Dissenters and Descendants
by ChuckyDoll
Summary: Read a story about Jonas, the Giver, Jonas's parents, and the Community through the eyes of a very special Birthmother.
1. Chapter 1

"Rhiannon!" my brother, Abel, told me. "Wake _up_."

My pillow covered my head, blocking out the protests of the annoying Five, and I groaned. Abel started to shake me, to whom I responded by hitting him with said pillow, and he ran out the room, complaining that I hurt him.

"Mother, Rhiannon hit me!" he whined.

My mother comforted Abel before she came into my room, angry that I hit Abel, and demanded that I wake up so I'm not late to school. I wasn't exactly eager to go to school anyway. I was busy counting down the days until the next Ceremony, where I would see what my best friend Emanuel gets assigned as. At the next Ceremony, I would become a Ten and get some of my curly hair cut off. This would make it a lot easier to brush. Brushing my hair wasn't easy and it was especially bad in the years that I had to braid my hair and tie it with ribbons.

"Rhiannon," my mother said. "Apologize to your brother!"

I reluctantly sat up and looked at my brother, who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. I gave him a nasty look, much to the scorn of my mother, and I stood up. I crossed my arms to mirror him.

"I apologize for hitting you with a pillow."

"I accept your apology," Abel replied and turned around, proceeding to the table where we usually have our Morning and Evening meals.

"Now please get dressed," my mother said. "Or you'll be late for school."

My mother left to prepare the meals the Community sends us each morning. I went through my drawers and took out my proper tunic and pants. After getting dressed, I went into the main room of our Dwelling, where my father helped button up Abel's jacket. Since he is not yet a Seven, the buttons are lined down the back to teach kids his age interdependence. Normally, I would be the one to button up his jacket, but since I've been waking up later and later, my father took up the duty. My father finished buttoning up Abel's jacket and directed him to his seat. I sat down with all of them and looked at my food portion, only to notice that not only had they given me a smaller portion, but also that they gave me food less sweet than they gave others in my family unit.

"Mother," I asked. "What's wrong with my food?"

"You've gained too much weight for your height," she clarified. "You'll be eating meals like those until your weight drops back to normal."

I wrinkled my nose but tried to eat it anyway. The first bite tasted strangely bitter and acidic. My face must have contorted into a really strange expression, otherwise my mother wouldn't have huffed and told me to just continue eating my food. I hoped I wouldn't stay on this diet for long. This new food tasted disgusting, so every time I took a bite, I would wash it down with as much water as I could. By the time I finished half of it, I really needed to use the bathroom, so I went without excusing myself first.

"Rhiannon, what are you–?" my mother asked.

"I have to pee!" I replied.

While I used the bathroom, I overheard my mother and father talking about me.

"Carlota, did you make sure she finished her homework last night?"

"Yes, I did, Savely."

My father had huffed. "I'm just making sure."

I finished using the restroom and washed my hands before I returned to my seat. My family members had finished most of their food and were all ready to conduct the Telling of Dreams. I decided not to finish the meal so they don't have to wait for me and pushed it to the center of the table. My mother gave me a stern look and I took it back, taking a couple of bites. After that, I pushed it to the center again.

"Who wants to go first?" my father asked.

Abel raised his hand immediately, kicking his legs in excitement. Before my mother and father could grant him permission to speak, he put his hand down immediately and started talking.

"I had a dream," Abel spoke. "That I went to school late, my jacket was on funny, and I got scolded for homework I didn't know about. Then I got sent back to a classroom for Fours!"

Both of my parents laughed.

"You probably had this dream because you were worried about your grades earlier this week," my father explained.

"Yeah, probably," Abel replied.

My mother recalled a dream in which she had trouble helping a woman at the House of the Old. I couldn't care less about my mother's dream, so I didn't hear how my father explained her dream to her. I guessed that it was related to having a bad workweek at the House of the Old, but it didn't matter to me. I took back my food tray and ate one more bite, quickly washing it down with water. The strange, bitter, acidic taste would not leave my mouth, so I started scraping my tongue against my teeth, and I waited for my father to report his dream.

"I didn't have any dreams," he said. "What about you, Rhiannon?"

I shrugged. "Just one. Not much happened in it."

"Why don't you tell us, Rhiannon?" my mother asked.

"Um, well, I was at the river with a bunch of my friends."

"Which ones?" asked Abel.

"Emanuel, Charmion, Aedan, Dagney, Andrei and Yoshiko," I replied. "We were at the river, but there was a bridge. Andrei made that bridge, in the dream. He built it all by himself and then we went on it. After that, a strange plane flew over the Communities and everyone was confused."

Both of my parents looked at me as if I had grown another head. Normally, people's dreams indicated something that the dreamer had been thinking or worrying about within the past week. However, I hadn't been thinking about bridges, Andrei's assignment, or airplanes at all. I had mostly thought about Emanuel wondering what assignment he would get. I thought both my parents and I were surprised that I hadn't dreamt of Emanuel, considering that I talked about him last night during the Sharing of Feelings.

"That's an interesting dream," my mother commented. "What were you feeling at the time?"

I shrugged again. "We were all impressed by the bridge. The airplane was interesting too. We don't normally see airplanes that close."

"What did the airplane look like?" my father asked.

"Umm… it was a thin plane. It's not like the fat planes we normally see. It also flew low and it was loud."

My mother and father simply nodded and started cleaning up the table. They placed the food trays outside for the Cleaning Crew to collect while Abel got his backpack. I went to fetch mine when my mother decided to check whether or not I had all my homework. I reassured her that, yes, I finished it all and it's all in my backpack. She went through my backpack anyway, looking through my folders and scanning my assignments. I waited impatiently for her to return my things to my pack before I left the house and fetched my bike.

"Bye Rhiannon!" Abel said as he was being strapped into his seat, which was attached to my father's bike.

"Bye!" I shouted back as I thought about my dream.

Throughout the whole bike ride, I kept thinking about the bridge and the airplane, wondering what would make me dream about it.

* * *

**I had deleted the old version of Dissenters and Descendants because I wanted to make changes to it. After that, I just decided to completely rewrite it. The old one was based only off the information provided in The Giver, but this new version will be based off not only that, but also some information provided in its sequels; Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. I also decided to change some information about the characters, deleted some old ones, and introduced some new ones.  
**

**What do you think, so far?**


	2. Chapter 2

_""My friend Yoshiko was surprised by her selection as Doctor," Father said. "But she was thrilled. And let's see, there was Andrei-I remember that when we were boys he never wanted to do physical things. He spent all the recreation time he could with his construction set, and his volunteer hours were always on building sites. The Elders knew that, of course. Andrei was given the Assignment of Engineer and he was delighted." Chapter 2, Page 16_

* * *

It was finally time for our snack break. By that time, I was fairly hungry, as I didn't even finish all of my diet food. I hoped that they didn't change what I could eat for snack, otherwise I thought I wouldn't eat all day. When we were all in line to receive snacks, I saw no other type of snack set aside for anyone on a diet, so I sighed with relief. I thought about secretly taking an extra snack for later, in case I get hungry again.

As usual, I made sure that I stood with Dagney, Aedan, Andrei and Yoshiko. They were all talking about places they wanted to volunteer at today. I was never sure where I wanted to volunteer it. Some days I wanted to work at the Nursery, some days I wanted to work at the Food Packaging, and other days I wanted to finally find out where the Bicycle Repair shop is. At one point, I had actually contemplated breaking my own bike at my house so I would have to use the speaker to contact whoever would fix bicycles. Once that person would arrive at my house, I would beg him or her to tell me where they work.

"Are you going to volunteer at the Nursery _again_?" Yoshiko asked Aedan.

Aedan nodded. He didn't talk a lot and was a very shy boy. When he was a Four, he had only befriended me, and it took him three years to become friends with Yoshiko. Andrei was one of Yoshiko's closest friends, so Aedan eventually got used to him, and Dagney had joined our group just two years ago. Aedan and Dagney's friendship was still somewhat rocky, but they got along well enough for our group to go without much tension.

"They're building a few more Dwellings on the east side of the Community," Andrei said. "I want to see them after school."

"I think I'll go with you," Yoshiko replied. "But I also want to see the Pharmaceutical Department. Rhiannon's father works there, you know."

Dagney spoke too. "What about the Department of Law and Justice?"

"Or the bicycle repair shop," I chimed in.

That made them all giggle. I was actually wondering where Emanuel and Charmion would volunteer today. This is Emanuel's last year of volunteering before he gets his Assignment. Charmion will get her Assignment the following year, and then I'm next. None of us three had volunteered at any one place consistently, so none of us have any idea of what our Assignments will be. Everyone knew what Aedan and Andrei would get: Nurturer and Engineer. I knew that Yoshiko would get something that requires a lot of intelligence, as would Dagney, but I had no idea what my future will be. Emanuel would probably get something very respected, no doubt. That left Charmion and I, the two girls who weren't much to begin with, nor would we predict ourselves to become much. This sort of thought left me in a negative mood, so I instead chose to think about when Emanuel, Charmion, and I first became friends.

Emanuel, Charmion and I had this discussion some time ago, when we first became friends. Emanuel told me that he had met Charmion and I back when I was a two, but I remember a strange storyteller by the name of Aerona telling me something different. She said that, at my Ceremony of One, Emanuel and Charmion had sat near each other, as their parents had allowed them to play together. The Namer had called me Rhiannon and given me to my parents when both Emanuel and Charmion started making loud noises. According to Aerona the Storyteller, I had responded with quite a bit of enthusiasm and tried to wriggle myself out of my parents' arms. Charmion's mother had successfully restrained her, but Emanuel had already made his way to the front. He had ended up by my mother's feet, trying to reach for my foot, and I had apparently been very excited by his presence. It had made the audience laugh, but it had disrupted the Ceremony, so Emanuel had to be taken back by his parents so the Naming could go on.

Emanuel's first memory of me was back when he was a Four, Charmion was a Three and I was a Two. I had been sitting with Aedan, who had been pretending that a set of large blocks were newchildren, when Aerona the Storyteller told us a tale of a girl who moved from a community named Wilsael to another community called Selnovant. According to Emanuel, he knew that those communities were fictional, but I had believed in their existence at the time. I had been fascinated by Aerona's story of a girl who moved to a community and had to learn all new rules and information. The Storyteller even talked about how the girl felt awkward because she looked slightly different. After she had told the story, I had apparently remained by her side and refused to leave. A few Instructors had asked that she leave so she could get to the other Communities on time, but I wouldn't leave, so she had directed my attention to Emanuel and Charmion. According to Emanuel, that was how we became friends.

As far as I remember, Aerona had looked different, just like the character in her story. She had funny eyes and curly hair and her voice sounded different from others' in a way I couldn't describe. She was also attentive to me in a way others weren't, aside from Emanuel and Charmion. She had only been able to stay in our Community for short periods at a time and hasn't been here in about five years. As far as I heard, she had returned to the Community she lived in to take up the role of Storyteller there. I sort of missed her. I hoped she comes back soon so we can hear her stories again.

"I hope we get cookies today," Yoshiko commented.

"So do I," Andrei replied.

"Same here," I chimed in. "I hope the new diet they put me on doesn't change what snacks I can eat."

"New diet?" Aedan asked.

Dagney gave him a look, which reminded him not to ask questions that were too personal, lest he risk being rude. Normally, we don't talk about differences between people, but since I admitted to being on a diet, I didn't mind the question from Aedan, and I answered it.

"I got this new food for my Morning Meal," I replied to Aedan. "It's supposed to help me lose excess weight and it tastes bitter and gross."

"That's probably because of a chemical they put in it," Dagney said. "Or an enzyme or something to help with the weight loss."

We got to the front of the line and I saw a pile of small cookies that were available to everyone. Alongside them, I saw a pile of crackers and some apples. The adult handing out the snacks saw me, immediately reached for a packet of crackers, and handed them to me.

"I didn't even choose my snack," I said. "I was hoping for the cookies."

"Rhiannon," replied the grown man. "I've been informed that your prescribed diet has certain limitations. You have the choice of either crackers or an apple."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll take the crackers, then."

I took my stupid crackers and went to one of the benches where several have already started eating. I opened the package of crackers and ate one, glad that this snack hasn't been tainted with any weight loss chemicals. As I waited for Dagney, Aedan, Andrei, and Yoshiko to collect their snacks, I looked at the Tens and Elevens lining up for their snacks. Immediately, my eyes scanned the crowd for Emanuel and Charmion.

The adults managing the snacks had already given all the Nines their food and the Tens were lined up, waiting for their crackers, cookies, or apples. Charmion was in the back half of the line, so I knew it would take a while for her to get her treat. The group of Elevens was lined up behind another table. From where I sat, Emanuel was at the back of his line, and it was going to take some time for him to get his food. I would sit with Aedan, Dagney, Andrei, and Yoshiko until they received their snacks, hoping that all five of us could agree on a place to volunteer at after school.

"Is it possible to volunteer as a Storyteller?" Yoshiko asked as she and her three friends came to the table.

"I doubt it," Dagney replied. "I don't know why someone would want to do that, anyway."

I sighed, thinking about Aerona, who must be having a great time telling stories somewhere else. I hoped that maybe I would tell stories as good as hers, but I doubted it, so I just went back to hoping that Aerona would return before Emanuel becomes a Twelve. I finished my snack as Dagney, Yoshiko, and Andrei talked about volunteering options. Aedan remained quiet as well, not wanting to state his obvious preference, and I waited for Charmion and Emanuel to get their snacks. I hoped that Emanuel would remember more about Aerona so he could tell me more about her. Charmion would probably remember more as well, so I hoped to hear more stuff from her. After what seemed like forever, Emanuel and Charmion get their snacks. Charmion talked to a few other girls in her year while Emanuel headed right over to our table with a smile on his face and cookies in his hand.

"Emmy," I called.

He blushed at the sound of the embarrassing nickname and opened the packet of cookies. My mouth watered and I held my hand open to receive one, only for him to give me a confused look. I shook my hand impatiently and he offered me one, still skeptical as to why I didn't take a packet of cookies while still in line.

"Why didn't you just take a packet of cookies yourself?" Emanuel asked.

"They didn't let me," I replied, hiding the cookie with my hands under the table. "I'm on a diet."

Emanuel sat down across from me and took a bite from his own snack. I stared at him, mostly his light eyes, and I wondered how I could manage to snatch that second cookie. He looked at me with a grin, knowing exactly what I was up to, and he put the cookie back in the packaging and placed it in his pocket. My shoulders sunk and my bottom lip stuck out in protest.

"Are you _sure_ you should have a cookie?" he asked.

"Yes!" I declared and took a bite of it. "Or I'll be hungry all day!"

Charmion came over to our table with a few of her friends, Buffy, Ronald, and Theresa. Buffy and Theresa both sat near Charmion while Ronald sat next to me. I took in one breath, realized how much he stank, and moved closer to Aedan, who was on my left. The stench made me lose my appetite, so I didn't finish the cookie, and I waited until he would find someone else to play with. Sadly, he wouldn't move. I decided I would simply breathe through my mouth.

"Remember the Storyteller?" I asked Emanuel.

Charmion responded instead. "She lived in another Community. I forget what it's called."

"Rockbourne," Emanuel replied. "As far as I remember. She's telling stories there now."

"I wish she'd come back," I sighed. "Then we can hear stories again."

"Maybe you'll become a Storyteller when you receive your Assignment," Emanuel said. "You should start practicing."

"Yeah, tell us a story!" Buffy cheered.

"Yeah, tell one," Ronald added, making me realize his breath stank too.

"All right," I said. "There was a woman named Willow. She wasn't very smart, but she was fairly strong, so she was assigned Birthmother."

By the time I started my story, Aedan, Yoshiko, Andrei, and even Dagney were listening. Normally, they would be discussing volunteering opportunities or Dagney would be telling Andrei _not_ to fool around. Now, they were all interested in the tale I was going to tell, even if I was only making it up on the spot. If this story was interesting enough, I decided I would keep practicing my storytelling in hopes that I get Storyteller as an Assignment in two years.

"She had given birth to three children, two girls and one boy. After that, Willow became a driver who sent food and supplies to different Communities. The first girl grew up to be a Pilot. The second girl grew up to be an Instructor. The last child, the boy, grew up to be a Fish Hatchery worker. Willow ended up driving around all three children at some point, but she didn't realize they were her products until she looked in the mirror one day and saw how much she looked like them."

Dagney rolled her eyes. "Who would care about a story about a Birthmother?"

Aedan remained quiet and Yoshiko and Andrei went back to talking about large buildings. Buffy, Theresa, and Ronald decided to play somewhere else, which I was glad about, since that meant I could breathe through my nose again. Only Charmion and Emanuel seemed vaguely interested in the story now and I decided I wouldn't bother with storytelling anymore.

"So much for telling stories," I moaned.

"I liked the story," Emanuel comforted. "Makes me think of Aerona, for some reason."

"Didn't she have funny eyes?" Charmion asked. "They were both light, like yours, but one had a funny dark spot."

"Your eyes are light also," Emanuel replied. "And hers, too."

I started to fantasize about Aerona being biologically related to us, but it didn't make sense anyway. She was a Storyteller, not a Birthmother, and any biological sisters she had that _were_ Birthmothers had to be in Rockbourne. She only came to our Community on occasion. I wondered how many other Communities she visited and entertained with her stories.

"I'm glad I'll be a Ten soon," I said. "I can get some of this curly hair cut off."

"I'll get new undergarments," Charmion mentioned. "I've been needing them, anyway."

Charmion was right. Already, small buds were poking through her shirt. She developed a little earlier than the other girls in her year, but they would soon catch up, and they would all need the undergarments handed out at the Ceremony of Eleven. I looked down at my own chest, wondering when I was going to develop, and I counted down the days until the beginning of the Ceremony. I couldn't wait to cut off some of this hair.

"I think I'll volunteer here today," I said. "That way, I can do bicycle races with some of the younger kids."

"Where are you going?" Charmion asked Emanuel.

"I'll volunteer at the House of the Old," Emanuel replied. "You should, too, Rhiannon. You might get ideas for Storytelling."

"Yeah," I sighed. "You're right."

To my surprise, Aedan gave my shoulder a poke (even though he technically wasn't allowed to) and spoke up. Normally, he doesn't talk during snack time at all.

"Who is that?"

Emanuel and Charmion lifted their heads and I turned around quickly to see a woman with curly, lighter hair in the distance. She was speaking to a few Instructors at the entrance of the school before they walked inside.

"I know who that is," said Grace, an older Ten. "That's the Storyteller."

I nearly jumped out of my seat, anxious to meet the Storyteller again. Eagerly, I went to the one of the Instructors watching over us and asked if I could use the lavatory. He said yes and I ran inside, waiting to find a place to finish my cookie and then spy on the Storyteller.

I decided the bathroom was the best place to hide and eat my cookie. After walking down the hall, I took a left and went to the lavatory, which had a row of stalls on both sides and two rows of sinks in the center. Immediately, I went to a stall on my right and closed the door, eating my cookie in silence. I finished it quickly, almost choking on it, and I looked through my stall door to see the Storyteller and another woman walk in.

Wait.

_The Storyteller_.

"I'm part of the Planning Committee," the woman said. "The Elders have been coming in and out, asking for files on all the Twelves. Especially Emanuel."

_Why Emanuel?_

"Oh, that boy. As far as I remember, he was friends with someone named Rhiannon, right?"

I clumsily bolted out of the bathroom door, which shocked both women, and I awkwardly closed the door behind me with a wide smile directed toward the Storyteller.

"You remember me?" I asked excitedly.

"Of course," she smiled. "I make a point to remember the children I tell stories to."

"Where are you supposed to be right now?" asked the Instructor of Twelves without looking at me directly.

"At the place where we eat our snacks," I replied. "But I was excused so I could use the lavatory."

The Storyteller flashed me a mischievous grin and motioned toward the edge of her lip. I wiped at the edge of my lip, realized that I had cookie crumbs there, and wiped my hand on the inside of my tunic. I watched as the Instructor washed her hands and the Storyteller scanned the row of stalls with her eyes. Patiently, I waited for the Instructor to leave so I could talk to the Storyteller privately.

"Instructor Sydney," the Storyteller asked. "Where do we meet after?"

"Aren't you going to follow me out?" the Instructor asked, confused.

"Well, you came in merely to wash your hands," she replied. "I still have to, you know, _use_ the facilities."

"Oh, um, well," the Instructor replied, embarrassed. "Meet us on the second floor."

"All right," the Storyteller said before she walked into a stall.

The Instructor left the room and I washed my hands as the Storyteller used one of the toilets. I thought about the story she told us when she was here some years back and about the one I told just minutes ago to my friends. Would this woman give me advice on telling stories? I hoped so. I patiently waited while the Storyteller finished her business, eager to ask as much as I could.

"So what's Rockbourne like?" I asked her. "We never went on field trips there. We went on them to other Communities, though. They were always fun."

She giggled. "Rockbourne isn't very different from Nantun."

Nantun is the name of our Community. I couldn't remember the name of every single community – no one does anyway – but I make a point to ask her what each community is like. I've only been on a field trip to two communities, Lyncombe and Ashdon, and they were fairly similar to Nantun. They had slightly different rules and, as far as I remember, the kids in Lyncombe had studied certain subjects earlier than we did. I was very curious as to what Rockbourne was like, not to mention how the Storyteller grew up.

"Tell me!" I cried with enthusiasm.

"The girls there wear their braids longer than the girls here," she told me. "And the boys have to style their hair too. They simply tie it back, though."

"And the games?" I asked.

"Well, there was one boy awfully fond of Hide-And-Seek."

I washed my hands while she got out of the stall to wash hers. When she faced me, I noticed a dark speck in one of her otherwise light eyes. Her hair was also lighter, somewhat like Charmion's, and her hair is curled like mine. Noticing her physical differences made me feel less self-conscious about mine and I felt a little proud of my appearance. Her long curled hair made me less eager to cut my hair off at the Ceremony of Ten and her eyes made me want to peer at my own in a mirror, just to see what they look like.

"Hide-And-Seek?" I asked. "What's that?"

The Storyteller let out a giggle. "Well, several children play at once. There is one person, the seeker, who counts to a certain number. It could be twenty, it could be one hundred, whatever they choose. While the seeker is counting, the other children find a place to hide. When the seeker finishes counting, he or she will look for those that are hiding. The first person to be found has to be the next seeker."

"How long are you going to stay in Nantun?" I asked her. "And how did you become a Storyteller?"

"Well, I was Assigned, like the others," she answered. "And I'm staying for the Ceremony."

I was filled with excitement. "You're staying for the Ceremony?!"

She nodded and beamed. "Yes, I am."

I started jumping a little and shook my hands happily. Her staying meant that she would see what Emanuel would be Assigned. She would see my friend Charmion get her necessary undergarments and she would see me get a stupid haircut. I hoped she would come for next year's Ceremony and the Ceremony that would occur the following year so she could see what Charmion and I are Assigned. I wondered why the Storyteller was staying for this year's ceremony, but I was overjoyed anyway.

"You get to see what my friend Emanuel is Assigned!" I mentioned. "And you'll see me get my curly hair cut."

The smile never left her face.

"I'll see you at the Ceremony, then," she said before she did something rather unexpected.

Right as we were heading toward the door, we both paused and she cupped my face with her right hand. Normally, such contact would be strictly forbidden, but we were out of the view of any cameras, so there was nothing to implicate her. The gesture seemed oddly affectionate, even for members of a family unit (the only people allowed to touch one another). I put my left hand over hers, smiled back at her, oddly appreciative of this tender gesture, and I let my hand fall. The look on her face conveyed more affection and feeling than anything I've seen from my own family members or my friends, which was very odd, considering that I've hardly spent time with the Storyteller. She finally let her hand fall.

"Bye," I said to her.

"Goodbye, Rhiannon," she replied.

Then, she left.

* * *

**What do you think? What do you recognize from the old story, if you read the previous version?  
**


	3. Chapter 3

_"Lily," Mother said, "I have a wonderful idea. Maybe when you become a Twelve, they'll give you the Assignment of Storyteller! I don't think we've had a Storyteller in the community for a long time. But if I were on the Committee, I would definitely choose you for that job!" Chapter 17, Page 137_

* * *

Throughout the whole school day, I had waited for the time I could see the Storyteller again and hear her tell stories to the younger children. I would volunteer at the Childcare Center, where she would be working today, and I would attempt to talk to her more. Hopefully, she'll tell the story of the girl who moved to another community. It had been a long time since I heard it and I wanted to hear it again. For some reason, I felt like I would learn more about Aerona by hearing that story.

At the end of the school day, I had been making my way to the Childcare Center when my friends, all on their bikes, stopped and decided to ask where I was going.

"The Childcare Center," I replied.

"Why?" Andrei asked. "You don't normally like working with kids."

"Sometimes I do," I responded. "I like playing games. The Storyteller is going to be there too."

Yoshiko laughed. "So that's the real reason you're going to the Childcare Center. You wouldn't stop talking about the Storyteller earlier."

"I don't find the Storyteller very interesting," Dagney added. "There's more fun things to do elsewhere, anyway."

As usual, Aedan didn't say anything. Yoshiko, Andrei, and Dagney rode off in different directions and Aedan stayed behind, getting off his bike and wheeling it towards me. I assumed that he was too shy to talk to me while the others were still around. When we got close, he smiled sheepishly and looked down at my feet. I didn't know why he did this.

"How was the Storyteller?" Aedan asked, still looking at the ground.

"She remembered me!" I told him, as I have told my friends several times today. "She told me more about Rockbourne. There, they play a game called Hide And Seek."

"Hide And Seek?" Aedan replied. "You explained that game. It sounds unsafe, considering the Instructors always need to know where we are."

"She's going to be at the Childcare Center," I responded. "And she's going to tell stories like she used to. I hope Charmion volunteers with me. My friends usually don't volunteer with me."

Aedan shrugged awkwardly. "I'll volunteer with you today. I normally do them at the Nurturing Center, but I can skip a day."

He smiled at me and walked beside me as we pushed our bikes to the destination. There was no point in riding the bikes, as the Childcare Center wasn't very far. Within only a few minutes, we were there, signing forms used to keep track of our volunteer hours. We would use those same forms to sign out when we were finished so the receptionists could record our hours in the computers. Once we signed the forms, we headed to the play area outside, where the Director of Recreation waited. Her assistant, a boy who had become a Twelve only a few years ago, was organizing some toys for today's game. Aedan and I went right up to the Director.

"Excuse me," I said. "Where do the volunteers go?"

"Go help the Assistant with the toys," she replied. "He'll tell you what to do."

Aedan and I approached the Assistant, who had just finished setting up a relay race. He decided to set up another station for construction toys. Aedan was about to speak, but then quickly shut his own mouth, and I rolled my eyes. I stood right in front of the Assistant and waited for him to look up.

"Oh, hello," he greeted. "Do you might setting up another station for the toy vehicles? I want to separate the kids by age. The Sevens and Sixes will have one relay race station and two toy stations. The Fives and Fours will have a separate relay race station and two toy stations. The Threes, well, hmm…"

"Keep them away from the older kids," Aedan suggested, to my surprise.

"I was considering that," said the Assistant. "There's a sandbox for some of the Threes. I also have some softer toys for them right here. Do you mind distributing them in the play area near the sandbox?"

"I don't mind," I replied.

Aedan and I took the bag of soft toys and went to the play area the Assistant told us about. When we took them out, we noticed that they slightly resembled comfort objects. For some reason, this made Aedan want to play with them. He started pretending that they were newchildren and decided to rock them, occasionally using his thumb as a pretend-bottle. After growing impatient, I threw one of the harder toys directly at his head, which caused him to drop the toy he was playing with.

"What was _that_ for?" he asked petulantly.

"We have to set up the toys, not pretend they're newchildren!" I replied.

"That doesn't mean you have to throw something at my head!"

"Then help set up the toys!"

Aedan huffed and placed the toy he had been playing with a few feet apart from the toy I threw at his head. We had finished setting up the station within a few minutes when the Assistant brought over a group of Threes and a small team of volunteers. Among those volunteers was Charmion, which surprised me, as I had hardly ever seen her volunteer at the Childcare Center. I assumed that she was just as fascinated with the Storyteller as I was and volunteered here in order to see her. Though it wasn't really Grace's nature to work with young children, she decided to work here today. Charmion's friends were among the group of volunteers, which disappointed me, as I would have to tolerate Ronald's stench for the next few hours. As usual, I breathed through my mouth when I was around him.

"Okay, Threes," said the Assistant. "How many of you want to use the sandbox?"

About a third of them raised their hands and started jumping with their stubby legs. The Assistant then directed them to the sandbox, telling about a third of the volunteers to watch over them. That left some thirty Threes to play with the soft toys set up for them and about fifteen of us to watch over them. The Assistant told each of us to choose two children to watch over. A few of Charmion's friends, Buffy and Theresa, had to watch over additional children. I was glad that Ronald wouldn't be right next to me. Instead, he sat beside Charmion, watching over two male Threes smacking two toys against each other. Aedan remained by my side and Charmion and Grace sat across from us.

I watched over two girls named Leila and Raina. Leila focused only on the toy she was playing with and paid no attention to anyone else, much to Raina's disappointment. Raina kept shouting Leila's name and asking to play with her, to no avail. At first, I found this amusing, but then I found this annoying. I didn't bother doing anything about it and, soon enough, Raina found a way to entertain herself, and I only kept an eye on them to make sure no one got hurt. Otherwise, I didn't have much interest in them.

"I heard the Storyteller would come here today," Grace mentioned. "I already saw her come in the school building earlier."

"What was she there for?" Theresa asked. "I didn't see her telling stories to anyone below the age of nine."

"Probably telling stories to the younger kids," Ronald replied. "I assume they really like her."

Suddenly, I heard the Director of Recreation announce that the Storyteller was here and several kids ran and yelled in excitement. Even the bunch of Threes in front of us looked in one direction and squealed happily. Raina started shouting to all the other Threes that the Storyteller was present. This roused up their excitement, which caught the attention of the young Assistant. He came over to our play area, got our attention, and let us know that our group was getting time with the Storyteller first. The Three year olds got even more excited. I made Aedan watch over my Threes while I watched the Storyteller make her way to our play area. She saw me and smiled which, for some reason, made me feel special. As soon as she found a place to sit, all of the Threes ran to her, yelling enthusiastically as snot dripped down all of their faces.

"The Storyteller!" some of the Threes shouted.

As usual, she was smiling at all of them, enjoying the attention they were giving her. When I caught her attention, I waved at her excitedly, which made her laugh, and she waved at me and at Charmion. Though Charmion wasn't nearly as jittery as I was, I could tell that she was just as happy to see the Storyteller as I was. I sort of wished Emanuel was here too, but he had volunteered at the House of the Old, where he would hear far less interesting stories.

The Assistant Director asked all of the children to quiet down before the Storyteller decided to tell the story I had wanted to hear all day. The children couldn't help but giggle occasionally, which amused the Storyteller. I saw how much she must have enjoyed recounting various tales and hoped that, one day, I could be just like her.

"Let me tell you the story of a girl," she said. "Her name was Anne and she lived in the community of Wilsael. Like you, she had a brother, a mother and a father. She had her family, she had friends whom she learned with and played with. She became a Twelve, as all of you will in the future, and she received the role of a caretaker. She helped care for the elderly, she helped care for young children, and she helped care for her family. She had this role for two years until…"

By this time, I had rolled up in a ball with half of my thumb in my mouth. I had given up on watching over the younger ones. Aedan ended up watching over the ones assigned to me, which I didn't mind, and I kept my attention on the Storyteller, who spoke slowly and gently. Charmion looked in my direction and laughed. I must have looked really childish right then.

"She had to move to another community, known as Selnovant," she continued. "Anne didn't know anyone. The rules were very different, so it was hard for her to learn them. She had trouble making friends and no one trusted her. She soon took on the role of caretaker again, but people were always wary of her. Once she proved herself able to learn the rules, she was able to be assigned a spouse, but her first spouse wasn't… well, nice."

"I don't understand," Aedan whispered. "Why would the Elders of that community assign a bad spouse?"

"I don't know," I replied. "Maybe they didn't know her well enough to assign her a good spouse."

"His name was Perry," she said. "And they had a daughter named Rina. Before they had a daughter, however, Perry committed an unspeakable crime. Perry was Released and Anne was assigned a new spouse named Caius. They had a child named Sam. Anne, happy with her new spouse, raised Rina and Sam alongside Caius."

"I wonder what Perry did," I whispered to Aedan.

He shrugged. The Storyteller was told she had to move on to another group and our bunch of Threes went back to playing either in the sandbox or in the play area with the stuffed toys. I decided that I would volunteer here until the Storyteller was done working in the Childcare Center. After that, I would sign out and follow her around, seeing what she does in her spare time and hoping for a chance to talk to her again. I had no idea when she would leave, so I had no clue how much time was left. I simply glanced at her every now and then to see whether or not she left. During this time, I vowed never to volunteer here again.

After an hour or so, the Storyteller got up to leave and I followed suit, quickly going to the front desk inside the building in order to sign out. I didn't even care about leaving some of my friends behind at that point. As soon as I signed out, I rushed outside, got my bike and quickly scanned my surroundings to see where the Storyteller was. I spotted her in front of the building. She pushed her curly hair behind her ear and looked around before she slowly walked toward the river. I started to ride my bike in her direction and stopped when I caught up to her, calling her name.

"Aerona!" I shouted.

She quickly turned my way. "Hello, Rhiannon. Good seeing you again."

"Where are you going?" I asked, putting my weight on one foot while still on my bike.

"To the river," she replied. "I'm going to meet an old friend."

She kept walking and I rode my bike at a slow pace to stay by her side, which seemed to amuse her. She began walking faster and I effortlessly kept up with her until she stopped walking. Once that happened, I simply rode in circles around her, making her laugh.

"Rhiannon, how long ago did you learn to ride?" she asked me.

"I got my bike at the Ceremony of Nine," I replied. "Emanuel and Charmion taught me how to ride. Emanuel's a better teacher, though, and… wait. Why don't you ride?"

"My bike is back home in Rockbourne," she responded. "I don't need it here, anyway."

"So who is your old friend?" I asked, still riding in circles.

She chuckled. "Well, stop going around me, let me walk there, and you'll see, silly."

I started to ride in a straight line and she walked in the direction of the river. As we got closer, we could see the flat-bellied planes in the distance flying around. To our left was the Fish Hatchery, which was being visited by a boat, and to our right was the House of the Old, where Emanuel was volunteering now. Straight ahead, I saw the space where the bridge was in my dream. I imagined it now; it had a high arch, it was wide enough to accommodate two large vehicles, and each side had a rail to make sure no one accidentally slipped over the edge. The water below was calm but swift and the sound of it gave everyone around it a sense of serenity.

"You brought a little friend," I heard a deep, old voice from behind me and immediately got off my bike to face him.

This man had strikingly pale eyes, white hair on his scalp and on his chin, a white tunic belonging to an Elder and a walking stick. His skin was fairly wrinkly and his back was slightly hunched over, yet he seemed to have a youthful quality. He looked at me, then at the Storyteller, and then at me again when I realized who he was.

"Receiver," I said under my breath.

"You know how curious children are," she replied. "This one in particular likes to follow me around."

I saw that her hand was about to pat my head, but she quickly withdrew her hand and kept her hands behind her back. She seemed to be trying not to smirk and I saw that the Receiver, too, was trying not to grin. I really didn't understand what they found so amusing.

"I don't blame her," the Receiver responded without looking at me at all. "Who wouldn't be fascinated by a Storyteller?"

I turned to face her again. "So this is your old friend," I said. "You have some interesting friends."

"You do too," she told me. "And Receiver, how have you been?"

The elderly man rubbed his upper arm and made a face. "Still a little achy, but I'm doing well. I've been quite busy, or so you can imagine. I hear you're staying for the Ceremonies this year."

"I heard you are too," she replied.

"Are you staying for the Ceremony next year?" I asked. "And the year after? Charmion and I will be Twelves by then! I hope to get Storyteller, like you!"

The Receiver groaned a bit, put his left hand on his back, and shifted some of his weight onto his walking stick. His expression contorted into a pained frown and he sat down on a grassy patch near the river, placing the walking stick beside him. Slowly, he bent his leg, massaged it with his hands and groaned while the Storyteller shook her head sympathetically before she sat down beside him. He winced again.

"Do you need Relief of Pain pills?" I asked.

The Receiver shook his head. "So, you hope to get Storyteller. Did you tell any stories to your friends?"

"Well," I sighed, lying down near them. "I told my friends one story of a Birthmother who comes across the people she birthed later in life, but they didn't like it."

The Storyteller breathed in deeply, looking at the grass without any sort of recognizable expression. The Receiver glanced at her briefly before he soothed his leg again. I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't take any Relief of Pain pills. Was it against his set of rules? Did he _have_ a separate set of rules? Did everyone? The Storyteller probably did. How many people could freely travel between communities?

"Oh, why not?" the Storyteller asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe I just don't have good stories."

"What about learning to ride your bike?" the Storyteller suggested. "Why don't you tell us that?"

"That's not even an exciting story," I replied.

"It doesn't have to be exciting," she said. "But it does seem interesting."

"Okay," I told them. "Well, it was six months before my Ceremony of Nine and Emanuel and Charmion wanted to teach me. At first I tried Emanuel's bike, but it was too big for me, because he has long legs and he's tall for his age, so I used Charmion's bike. We practiced behind the House of the Old after school sometimes. Charmion would get frustrated when I didn't go or brake on time and she even laughed when I fell once. Emanuel laughed a little too but he wasn't so bad. He would sometimes guide the bike when I was riding it. I know a lot of people in my year had their older siblings teach them, but I'm the oldest child in my family unit."

"You have a younger brother?" she asked.

"Yep. His name is Abel. Mother and Father like him better than me because he gets better grades and doesn't get in trouble and he's not overweight like I am. I have excess weight and now I'm on special diet food and it tastes really bad. They wouldn't even let me get cookies for snack at school."

The Storyteller nodded as if she was saying, "Uh huh. Sure." It must have been because she saw me with cookie crumbs on my face in the bathroom earlier. For some reason, this made the Receiver chuckle and I wondered how much he knew of my interactions with the Storyteller. The silent understanding between them was strangely apparent; it was no secret that they were old friends. How they became friends, I didn't know.

At some point, the Storyteller and I were both lying down on the grass. I picked up a stick and poked it in the spaces between her fingers, which were resting in the soft grass blades. I would first poke it between her index finger and thumb, then between her index finger and middle finger, then between her middle finger and the finger next to the pinkie, then between that finger and the pinkie. I would do this again, except backwards, and I would go back to the original pattern. I repeated this, speeding up with each cycle, until I accidentally poked one of her fingers and scraped it.

"Rhiannon," the Storyteller chuckled.

"I apologize."

"It's ok–" she started to say before the Receiver coughed. "I accept your apology."

"Um," I replied, looking at the scrape. "Should I call someone to get disinfectant?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine, thank you. I've dealt with worse. Now, why don't you tell me about your friends?"

"Okay!" I responded excitedly. "Well I told you about Emanuel and Charmion, but Charmion has a few friends. There is this one named Ronald and he stinks. She also has these two friends named Buffy and Theresa, but I don't talk to them. In my year, there's Aedan, Dagney, Yoshiko, and Andrei. Yoshiko and Andrei are pretty close and they're nice to Aedan. Aedan's a bit shy and quiet. Dagney's pretty strict though, I guess. She thought it was weird that I wanted to listen to stories."

The Storyteller scratched her head. "That name. Dagney. It sounds familiar. Who's her father?"

"Um," I replied, sitting up. "I think Roberto. He's one of the Instructors for the Elevens, along with Instructor Sydney. I forget the other Instructor for children of that year."

"Huh. I remember him being good friends with a woman named Edna," the Receiver spoke. "He's known for designing the Plaza."

I noticed the sky was starting to darken and the other kids were returning to their dwellings. Some adults were leaving their workplaces and picking up their kids at the Childcare Center while others were going to their workplaces to start their night shift. In the distance, I saw Emanuel exiting the House of the Old.

"I've seen you two ride home together," the Receiver told me. "You two are very close, as far as I understand."

"Yeah," I nodded, getting up. "I have to go home now. Bye, Receiver! Bye, Storyteller."

The Storyteller grinned happily as I went to mount my bike. As soon as I was on it, she had gotten up and caught up to me, holding the front handle of the bike. She touched my hands briefly and I flashed a sheepish smile. Somehow, I thought I was special to this woman. I must have been. I hoped.

She let go of the front handle and stepped back, looking at the aching Receiver. They waved at one another and the Receiver left the area. It seemed like only the Storyteller and I remained near the river and, before I left, she spoke again.

"Call me Aerona."


	4. Chapter 4

_"I think newchildren are so cute," Lily sighed. "I hope I get assigned to be a Birthmother."  
"Lily!" Mother spoke very sharply. "Don't say that. There's very little honor in that Assignment."__ Chapter__ 3, Page 21_

* * *

The first day of the Ceremony was tomorrow and both Charmion and I noticed a change in Emanuel's demeanor. He had been muttering to himself more often, spent more time alone, and he sometimes stopped to hear things that weren't actually there. This stop-and-hear thing had been going on for about a couple of weeks. In the beginning, he would stop and ask us if we "heard that." Charmion and I would shake our heads and Emanuel would sulk in frustration. Now, he no longer asked us if we heard anything, but we could both tell that he heard something by the way he would perk his head up. Sometimes, he would start humming as well.

After school, Emanuel, Charmion, and I stood by our bikes, discussing places to volunteer. Aedan and Andrei usually volunteer at the same places and Yoshiko volunteers wherever she wants, so those three weren't in our discussion today. Dagney seemed to have stopped caring about where her friends were volunteering. The three of us were left to consider where to work together.

"I was thinking Food Production," Emanuel suggested.

Charmion and I looked at each other, silently agreeing on our lack of enthusiasm regarding Emanuel's suggestion. I glanced at my surroundings and looked for any sign of where the Storyteller might be. As long as she is here, I might as well spend as much time with her as I could. So far, I couldn't see her.

"I would suggest the Nurturing Center, but I know Rhiannon doesn't like newchildren," Charmion replied. "Maybe we could go to the Rehabilitation Center."

I became tired of the discussion and wanted to leave, so I hopped on my bike and kicked the stick that held the bike upright.

"I'm going to find the Storyteller," I said. "Have fun volunteering."

I pedaled away from the school and headed in the direction of the area where all the medical departments were. As I rode, I kept turning my head to see if I could catch a glimpse of the Storyteller and saw Emanuel and Charmion riding in my general direction. I kept pedaling and looking when, all of the sudden, I crashed into someone. That person fell over and dropped their bag while I toppled over to my right, my bike still between my legs. I was too busy focusing on the scrapes on my legs to notice who I had crashed into, but luckily, Emanuel and Charmion, who had been quick to catch up to me, pointed out who she was.

"I guess you found who you were looking for," Charmion teased.

I held my bicycle upright and wiped my clothes with my hands. "Oh, Aerona, I apologize! I didn't mean to crash into you."

"I accept your apology," she replied, though the words didn't seem to come out naturally. "Do you often crash your bike?"

"Oh, no!" I said, shaking my head. "I don't normally do that. I was just looking for someone and I got distracted."

"Charmion insinuated that you were looking for me," she responded. "In case you were curious, I'm heading to the Birthing Center to tell stories to the Birthmothers. You three are all welcome to come."

I immediately followed her to the Birthing Center. My legs were scraped enough and I didn't want to crash into someone else again, so I decided to push my bike rather than ride it. This way, I wouldn't have trouble staying by her side on the way there. Emanuel and Charmion were following me, pushing their bikes in the same manner. I assumed they wanted to hear whatever conversation I would have with the Storyteller.

"Do you tell stories to Birthmothers often?" I asked.

"Sometimes I do. The Birthmothers don't have much to do, so I know they'll enjoy them. Sometimes they tell me stories too."

"About what?"

She shrugged. "The games they play, what their pregnancies were like, their friendships. Their lives are more interesting than people like to give them credit for. There is so much other people don't know."

"Like what?" I asked. "Tell me!"

She chuckled. "I can't tell you. I've sworn to keep it a secret."

Emanuel and Charmion laughed to themselves and I huffed, pushing my bike toward the bike stand in front of the Birthing Center. A few other girls were volunteering here, but not very many boys, and looked at the nameplates of the other bikes parked in the stand. I noticed that Grace had decided to work here today, which surprised me, as she usually volunteered in places pertaining to either law or science. I thought maybe she heard that the Storyteller was coming here and wanted to hear her stories like I did. I pushed the thought aside and followed the Storyteller into the building, heading toward the front desk to sign in so they can record my volunteer hours. Emanuel and Charmion did the same and we were directed to the Recuperation wing of the building. In that wing, we saw a few Birthmothers resting in beds with detachable rails on the sides. One Birthmother was completing an exercise session with a staff member while the other Birthmothers were being served snacks. A staff member offered the Storyteller a spare seat, which she accepted, and some staff members left to the Dining Hall, leaving some of their duties to the volunteers.

"You're telling us stories?" one of the Birthmothers asked. I glanced at her shapeless smock to see if there was a nametag, but there was none.

"Yes, I am," she replied. "Why don't I tell you my name first? I'm Aerona. I'd like to know who all of you are."

"I'm Lusine," said the Birthmother that first spoke.

The Storyteller then glanced at the leftmost Birthmother, sitting right beside Lusine. "And you?"

"Felicia," she replied.

The one in the middle didn't even need to be asked. "My name is Heidi. The one next to me is Jane and the one on your far right is Tammy."

Felicia, Lusine, Heidi, Jane, and Tammy. Tammy's name sounded vaguely familiar. I glanced at her, thinking that she seemed to be the youngest one here, and I suddenly remembered her Ceremony of Twelve two years ago. She had accepted her assignment with enthusiasm, though the assignment wasn't considered honorable, and didn't seem to mind the lack of prestige in being a Birthmother. I assumed that she had given birth to her first newchild and decided I would ask her how that was. The Storyteller told me that the Birthmothers had interesting stories and I was determined to learn what they were.

I noticed Grace entering the room. She quickly situated herself with Lusine, helping her dispose of whatever trash she had, and offered help to Heidi. Heidi declined politely and Grace sat down between them. Meanwhile, the Storyteller took out a folder from her bags and looked through it, reading the titles of stories she had told before. Just as the Storyteller got to the end of the folder, Jane spoke up.

"What stories do you have?"

The Storyteller cleared her throat. "I have one about a boy going on a field trip and meeting his released twin. I have one about a girl who moved to another community. Let's see, what else do I have…"

I stopped focusing on the Storyteller when I noticed Emanuel's head perk up and heard him hum quietly. After whispering to Charmion, she turned to look at the light-eyed Eleven, smirked, and starting mimicking the motions Emanuel was making with his head. I couldn't help but giggle.

Right then, Emanuel noticed us and became self-conscious, turning away from us and looking at the doors that would lead to the Dining Hall. Charmion simply chuckled and we turned our attention to Heidi, who had spoken up excitedly, somewhat like a young child. Once the first sound she made was heard, the other Birthmothers perked up. Tammy, who had previously been distracted, was now fully alert, ready to hear everything anyone in the room had to say.

"Do you have stories about Birthmothers?" Heidi asked.

The Storyteller shook her head. I assumed that she didn't visit Birthmothers very often and others who heard her stories weren't interested in Birthmothers. The Birthmothers seemed saddened by this and I thought of my story, which none of my friends had been interested in. The Storyteller looked at me and I considered telling it to these women, but I shrugged and hid myself. Tammy, the rightmost Birthmother, leaned over to see me and waved.

"Maybe she has a story," Tammy said, pointing to me.

I gave her a nasty look as the other Birthmothers insisted that I tell a story. Even Jane, who had been relatively quiet up until this point, pleaded that I tell it. At that point, I decided that I would tell this story just once and, if they didn't like it, I wouldn't tell it again. Perhaps I wouldn't even volunteer here again.

"Fine, I'll tell it," I spoke. "There was a Birthmother named Sandy who made lots of friends during her birthing years, but when she was done, she didn't see them anymore because she was given the assignment of driver. She transported foodstuffs to different communities, drove buses when children went on field trips, and drove the different community leaders around when they needed to meet. Meanwhile, the children she had birthed all grew up and received their assignments. Her first child became an Instructor, the second one a Pilot, and the third one a Fish Hatchery worker. What Sandy didn't know is that she had met each person she had produced in her birthing years. One day, she had to drive all three of them in the same vehicle. She had found a mirror in the vehicle and, once she looked into it, she saw how much she looked like her passengers and realized that she had produced them. She couldn't say anything though because as soon as she realized what she did, they had all left. She never saw them again."

"I liked that story!" Tammy said.

I looked at the faces of the other volunteers and saw that they had been bored by it. The other Birthmothers peered at their faces too. Their expressions indicated that they came to the same realization I did and the Birthmothers seemed to collectively decide to ignore the other volunteers. Even Grace, who was normally sweet and humble about her intelligence, seemed to consider herself above the Birthmothers. Aside from Emanuel, Charmion and I, the only other volunteer that seemed even remotely interested in the Birthmother story was a girl in my year named Sigilind. She wasn't a top student nor was she very pretty or outgoing, but she was a kind, hard working girl. Sigilind looked at me and smiled, indicating that she had liked my story.

One of the staff members came into the room and whispered something to another staff member, who responded with a nod and counted the number of volunteers. That staff member then whispered something to the other one before making an announcement.

"The Dining Hall needs a few volunteers to help cook and serve food," said the staff member. "Who wants to go there?"

Everyone except the Storyteller, Sigilind and I raised their hands. The staff member instructed them to form a line behind him and, once they formed a line, the volunteers followed him out of the Recuperation wing and into the Dining Hall. The three of us stayed behind to interact with the recuperating Birthmothers. Now that most of the seats were empty, Sigilind took the opportunity to sit closer to me, which surprised me, as Sigilind and I hardly ever talked to one another. I hardly ever see her talk to anyone, really. She was unusually shy.

"I liked your story," Sigilind quietly said, immediately looking down once she finished talking.

"Thank you," I replied quickly.

"You're welcome."

The Birthmothers seemed amused by this awkward exchange, except for Jane, who had laid her head back, closed her eyes, and started to snore softly. The rest of us took care to speak quietly so we don't disturb her. The rest of the Birthmothers asked the Storyteller what other stories she had and Sigilind and I were left alone to have more awkward conversations.

"You don't volunteer here often," Sigilind said.

I shook my head. "I don't volunteer very often at any one place. I usually go where my friends are. Now, I'm going wherever the Storyteller is."

"You're a good storyteller," she whispered.

"Thank you," I replied. "My friends didn't like the story."

Sigilind didn't say anything else, which wasn't unlike her. She hardly spoke to anyone, except maybe me, but only when I was alone. I was rarely alone, so we didn't speak to each other often. Sometimes I felt sorry for her. I compared her to Aedan, who was rather shy and quiet, and wondered if they would get along. I imagined them alone, accompanied only by an awkward silence, and I pushed away the idea altogether. They were both too awkward to even try to talk to one another.

"Do you volunteer here often?" I asked her, rewarded with only a nod. "Not many people seem to like the Birthmothers. The Storyteller told me they have stories of their own. The Storyteller has to leave at some point; we could stay behind and find out."

Sigilind shook her head. "What if we get in trouble?"

I shrugged. "You don't have to do it, but I'm going to find out what stories they have."

The Storyteller engaged the Birthmothers with the tale of the boy who met his released twin. She littered the story with hilarious mishaps and jokes that made the women laugh. Afterwards, she told another story of an elderly woman who reconnected with her childhood friends in the House of the Old, then she told a different tale of a young girl who broke her bike and looked everywhere for the Bicycle Repair shop. Meanwhile, Sigilind and I watched these Birthmothers interact with one another and with the Storyteller. Heidi spoke a lot and was the center of attention, Tammy was easily excited, Felicia was curious, Lusine was quiet and attentive, and Jane was still sleeping. After a while, the staff member told the Storyteller that she was needed elsewhere and they conversed for a little bit while the Birthmothers kept to themselves.

"The Ceremony is tomorrow," I whispered to Sigilind. "Are you excited?"

She shook her head. "All we're getting are haircuts."

The Storyteller left the room and the staff member motioned to us. "It's time we leave these Birthmothers alone to rest. Why don't you help out in the Dining Hall with the others?"

Sigilind and I reluctantly got up and followed him out the room when I thought about the stories the Birthmothers had to tell. I looked behind me, noticing the lavatory, and thought of an excuse to leave the group. The staff member didn't seem too smart, so I assumed he wouldn't guess what I actually was going to do.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "Can I use the lavatory?"

"Of course," he replied and led Sigilind to the Dining Hall while I turned around, pretending to be heading for the lavatory.

As soon as I saw the staff member and Sigilind turn around at a corner, I quickly returned to the Recuperation wing, careful to open the door slowly so I wouldn't alert anyone. When I entered, the Birthmothers noticed me, except for Jane, who was still asleep. They all seemed puzzled. I couldn't help but giggle at the thought that I shouldn't be here, but I really wanted to know what sort of stories the Birthmothers had. I approached Felicia, as she was the closest to me, and greeted her with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Did you forget something? I thought you were going to the Dining Hall."

"The Storyteller said that Birthmothers have lots of stories other people don't know," I replied. "I asked her what, but she said she had to keep it secret, so I wanted to ask you all."

The Birthmothers chuckled.

Tammy was the first to reply. "I'm glad that you're interested, but if she had to keep it secret, so do we."

I pouted and crossed my arms, which only humored then, and I huffed loudly. The Birthmothers seemed amused, but I saw their expressions change when the door swiftly opened with a loud thud. Quickly, I turned around and saw a different staff member, who appeared surprised that I was there unsupervised.

"What are you doing here, Rhiannon?" she asked.

"She thought she forgot something of hers in here," Heidi replied, covering for me. "Turns out she didn't. Rhiannon, don't lose anything else, all right?"

I nodded and the staff member believed the Birthmother before she told me I had to go help clean up the Dining Hall. I spent the rest of my volunteer hours there that day, wondering why Heidi felt she could lie at all, let alone make sure I didn't get in trouble. I would have thought about Heidi's deceit all day hadn't I later left the building to see Emanuel frustrated out of his mind.

Both Charmion and I noticed how grumpy Emanuel was after our volunteer hours were done that day. Charmion was able to tell due to his refusal to speak to either of us while I detected it by his immediate decision to head to the river. One moment of exchanging eye contact and we both knew we had to follow him to the riverbank if we wanted to figure out what was wrong. Neither of us wanted him to feel this way by tomorrow during the Ceremony.

Once we reached the riverbank, we threw down our bikes and ran to his side. Emanuel was curled up in a fetal position and one of his hands was touching the swift water of the river. Neither Charmion nor I were exactly sure what to say to him, so we waited until he noticed us, which didn't take long. He used his wet hand to wipe his face when he lifted his head and looked at us.

"What do you two want?" he asked, being rather snappy, which wasn't like him.

"We thought something was wrong," Charmion replied. "So we came."

Emanuel huffed. "Well, I honestly wish you didn't, especially since you made fun of me earlier."

"Oh," Charmion responded quietly. "I apologize."

Emanuel uncurled and turned to face the both of us. "I accept your apology," he spat quickly before switching moods all of the sudden. "Something's wrong!"

"Was this like those few times you asked us if we heard anything but we didn't?" I asked. "Because now you just lift your head a little bit and hum."

Emanuel gave me a stern look before he put his face in his hands, his fingers curling and tensing up. He then stared into the distance, where one could see flat planes flying low, and ran his right hand through his hair. He kept this hand on his neck as a means of comfort.

"What are you hearing anyway?" I asked.

"Things I'm not supposed to, obviously," Emanuel groaned. "What if there is something wrong with me? I don't want this to be happening at the Ceremony!"

"Did you tell your parents?" Charmion asked. "Or a doctor? They might be able to diagnose you."

Emanuel shook his head. "I can't. I don't know how to explain it."

"What? How? That's what language is for. To _explain_ things! Why would we be lectured on Precision Of Language if we weren't meant to use it?" Charmion replied incredulously.

Emanuel dipped his hands in the river, wiped his face, got up, and steadied his bike. We followed him, only to stop him from leaving so quickly out of concern of what he might do. What if he listened to those strange sounds and accidentally crashed his bike? The sounds never interfered with his activities before, but neither Charmion nor I were sure that their effects would be benign in the future.

"Wait, Emmy!" I called.

"Never mind! Just forget it!" he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow at the Ceremony!"

Emanuel hopped on his bike and rode in the direction of the dwellings, leaving us by the swift yet quiet river in confusion.

* * *

**What do y'all think?  
**

**1. To Kiren, who isn't a user and simply reviewed as a guest, I think I might check out that book. It didn't get many good reviews on goodreads, but I'll take a look anyway.**

**2. What do you think will happen next?**


	5. Chapter 5

_"Well, they tried to make her life sound meaningful. And of course," she added primly, "all lives are meaningful, I don't mean that they aren't. But Edna. My goodness. She was a Birthmother, and then she worked in Food Production for years, until she came here. She never even had a family unit."_

_Larissa lifted her head and looked around to make sure no one else was listening. Then she confided, "I don't think Edna was very smart."_ _Chapter 4, Page 31_

* * *

Today was the first day of the Ceremony. Instead of heading for school, we were heading for the auditorium, not far from my own dwelling. Today, my brother would become a Seven and get his new front-buttoned jacket, which I'm sure he'd wear with pride. The Ceremony of Ten could happen either today or tomorrow, depending on how quickly we proceed with each ceremony. Rarely does a Ceremony of Eleven happen on the first day, so Charmion's ceremony will most likely be tomorrow. Emanuel's ceremony? Definitely tomorrow.

For the first time in a long while, I was the one to wake up first, finish my food early (despite its awful taste), and get ready first. By the time Abel started to eat, I was ready to bike to the auditorium and meet all of my friends there, but I had to wait for Abel to finish his breakfast so we could proceed with the Telling of Dreams. I thought about that dream about that bridge I had a few nights ago and wondered why I dreamt it, since there was nothing that happened the day before to trigger it. Last night, I had a rather interesting dream too, but it didn't have to do with any of my friends. My dream actually didn't feature anyone I regularly spoke to. I didn't want to go first, so I let Abel tell our parents his childish dream.

"Last night, I had a dream a-and in it," Abel cheerfully told with some food still on his face. "Everyone was riding bikes! Even Sixes were riding bikes!"

Both Mother and Father chuckled at his silly dream, which made him smile, and Father allowed Mother to share her dream, since he didn't have one. However, she simply said that she didn't have any dreams last night. I was the last person at the table to share my dream.

"Last night, I dreamt about the House of the Old," I said. "I didn't dream about me though. I dreamt that I was someone else."

Mother and Father leaned forward with interest. "Really?" Mother asked. "Tell us about that."

"Well, I dreamt that I was a little older," I replied. "And a boy. I still had these eyes, though. I think I was bathing an elderly woman."

I paused, trying to remember other details of the dream. I couldn't remember any names from the dream, nor could I remember the faces of anyone other than the elderly woman. Still, I thought the dream was significant somehow. I had never dreamt as anyone but myself.

"Did anything else happen?"

I shrugged. "I can't remember all that much. I guess the elderly woman and I were talking about people she knew. I think one of them was a Birthmother and the other was an Instructor. I'm not sure. It's the first time I dreamt as someone else."

Mother and Father looked at me with interest. Neither they nor Abel ever reported dreaming as anyone but themselves. I started to wish I knew the identity of the boy I dreamt I was. He seemed very much like me, but also somehow different in a way I couldn't understand. If he was real, I really wanted to meet him.

"That's interesting," Mother said. "Thank you for your dream."

I decided to leave my family behind so I could meet my friends at the auditorium early. I speedily pedaled my bike and let the gentle breeze push my hair back, looking at the other dwellings and seeing some adults buckle their younger children onto the attached seats of their bikes.

I arrived at the auditorium. Aside from some substitute laborers, I didn't see very many people hanging around outside the building. My guess was that most of the ceremony-attending citizens were either at home and getting ready or were already inside the building. I looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone riding towards the auditorium, and I saw no one of interest, so I went up to the door of the auditorium and took a quick peak inside. In the front, just before the podium, Nurturers were accompanying newchildren. Various Elders were scattered across the room, observing others, and the group leaders of each age group were taking their places in the audience, determining how far away their own age group sat from the stage. I saw my own group leader, who was also my Instructor, sitting some rows away from the stage, and I looked around for any of my age mates. So far, I only saw some, but none of them were my close friends.

I heard footsteps, turned around, and saw Sigilind timidly approaching the doorway to the auditorium. She had parked her bike beside mine and was now glancing inside the large building. I don't know who she could be possibly looking for; it's not like she has many friends. She must have been looking for members of her family unit. Sigilind stopped looking around, smiled at me sheepishly, and averted my gaze when I smiled back at her. Her behavior struck me as odd and I didn't want to deal with it right now, so I went back outside to find one of my friends. I looked down the street I had traveled on moments ago and saw Emanuel riding toward us. Leaving Sigilind behind, I jogged to the bicycle rack where he was headed and waited for him to park his two-wheeled vehicle. He smiled as he saw me and when he finished securing his bike, we walked together. I didn't realize what direction we were walking in until I noticed that he led me to the side of the building, out of the sight of most people.

"Remember when Charmion told us that her older brother started taking the pills?" he asked.

I nodded and saw that his right hand was in his pocket, curled into a loose fist. "Didn't we make a deal that we'd all tell each other when we start taking the pill?"

Emanuel nodded, removed his right hand from his pocket, and opened it. In his palm, I saw a white, oval pill, and I looked up to see a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but wonder what made him need the pill this morning or what prompted him to bring it to the auditorium rather than just tell me he needed it. The way he looked at me caused me to smirk as well and I'm sure I started blushing at that moment. We both looked back at the small white pill with an indent in the middle and small letters and numbers written on it.

"Aren't you gonna tell Charmion too?" I asked.

He nodded. "When she gets here," he replied, putting the pill back in his pocket. "Come on, let's go inside."

"Aren't you going to _take_ the pill?" I asked as I followed him to the doors.

"Oh, I already took it. I just brought another one to show you what it looked like," he responded with an inflection in his voice that made me doubt his words.

As we took a step into the auditorium and watched some of the adults scout for what they considered the best seats in the auditorium. A few picked seats closer to the side of the room while others opted for the elevated seats closer to the middle or back. Meanwhile, their children were looking for the designated rows where their group leaders sat. Somewhere, the Elders were taking their reserved seats.

"So volunteering in the Dining Hall was disappointing," I sighed. "We didn't even see the Birthmothers in their middle or late stages of pregnancy. What does that even look like? How do they produce a full sized newchild?"

Emanuel shrugged. "I wonder why they won't let us see them," he said just before he perked his head up and glanced at something in the middle distance, letting out a soft, short hum.

"Are you hearing that thing again, whatever it is?" I asked him, not able to see his face.

He leaned in and whispered to me. "I'd really rather not talk about that." Emanuel resumed his normal demeanor. "Where's Charmion? She should be here by now."

"Are you going to tell her about the pill?" I teased, staring at his right pocket, where a single pill was hidden. "What did you dream about? Was it awkward telling your parents?"

"Shh!" Emanuel hushed me, frustrated.

I decided to leave Emanuel alone and go back outside to look for Charmion, who turned out to be parking her bike along with her Buffy, Theresa, and smelly Ronald. Her three friends stayed by their bikes to chat while I waved at Charmion, who saw me, smiled, and approached us. I couldn't help but think of Charmion's reaction when she learns about Emanuel's need for the pills, though it couldn't be as awkward as mine. The subject of Emanuel's dream was all that occupied my mind right now. Soon, it would occupy Charmion's.

"Guess what happened to Emmy?" I whispered with a giggle.

"Is it the hearing thing again?" she asked, probably assuming I still found it funny. "You should probably see a doctor about that. Maybe they can run some tests to fill in the information you can't give them."

Emanuel's head sunk again until I quietly blurted out what I was referring to. "He's on the pill, except it's in his pocket!"

Charmion went into a laughing fit. She covered her mouth, closed her eyes, and doubled over, rapidly breathing in and out. Her hands then went to her knees as she bent over to catch her breath before she started laughing again. Charmion's laughter must have been contagious, otherwise I wouldn't have started laughing along, much to Emanuel's chagrin. I barely heard him sigh before Charmion and I both noticed that he went into the auditorium without us. We left Emanuel alone, which we both decided to do in silence, and after noticing the influx of citizens heading toward the auditorium, we went to sit in our designated rows for our age groups.

For now, we didn't have to sit in our numerical order the way we would while on stage, so I sat by my friends, who were all chatting about their siblings' ceremonies. Yoshiko recounted her older brother's Ceremony of Twelve, which occurred last year (he had been assigned Engineer), and Andrei kept asking questions about her brother's occupation. Both Dagney and Aedan listened attentively to Yoshiko's story in a manner that I wished they listened to mine with. In order to pass the time until the Matching of Spouses ceremony would start, I listened to Yoshiko's story, then to Dagney's story about her older brother, who is currently studying astrophysics (whatever that was). Since I had nothing to say about older brothers, I found it easy to just listen and contribute nothing.

Finally, the Matching of Spouses ceremony had started, which the Chief Elder on the stage, reading a speech about the importance of correctly pairing the appropriate people up for the task of raising children. The Chief Elder rambled on about the duties of being a proper spouse and about the traits necessary for spousehood. Most people found this part of the ceremony rather boring and I had only paid attention when Dagney noticed her older brother being paired up with a woman who happened to be his age-mate. I had gotten bored enough to sit up and look around the auditorium for any familiar faces when I saw the Storyteller sitting in another set of seats, just a few rows back. Excited, I waved to her, hoping she would notice me. She flashed a friendly smile and gave a short wave back to me before the Ceremony of One started.

I watched as the Nurturers took the newchildren onto the stage and noticed the youngest ones at the far back, thinking about the Birthmothers I visited just yesterday. Which newchildren had they birthed? I had no way of being able to tell, nor did I know whether or not those Birthmothers cared. In any case, the newchildren entertained the audience with their loud babbles and attempts to crawl and walk. I couldn't help but think of the story I heard about my Ceremony of One and how Emanuel, who was becoming a Three, had attempted to get onto the stage in order to meet me. I looked behind me and watched the Storyteller laugh at each newchild happily. Once the Ceremony of One ended, boredom took over me as I watched the Ceremonies of Two, Three, and Four.

"Rhiannon," Aedan whispered to me during that time. "My sister Katya is becoming a Seven today. She's excited about the front-buttoned jacket."

"So is my brother," I replied. "Do you know if they're good friends?"

Aedan shrugged. "I don't know much about Abel, other than what you've told me."

During the Ceremony of Four, the Chief Elder presented the little children their back-buttoned jackets and gave a speech about interdependence and how it affected the community (not that the new Fours would understand). Once the Ceremony of Four was completed, the entire audience was dismissed for a lunch break, which I was really grateful for. Now I could stretch my legs, eat (hopefully not that terrible diet food), and talk with my friends about tomorrow's ceremony.

I had rushed to the table where food was being served when I accidentally bumped into a woman who looked like she'd be childless by now. Alarmed, she turned around, saw me, and gasped. I rubbed my head and looked at her face.

"I apologize for running into you," I said, thinking that her face reminded me of the old woman in last night's dream.

"I accept your apology," she replied as I attempted to read her nametag.

I squinted my eyes, then widened them, and tried to look closer at the nametag clipped onto the woman's tunic. The letters seemed to blur and swim, so I blinked a couple of times, but the letters wouldn't stop. I gave up and huffed, deciding to simply ask the woman her name.

"I apologize for this," I asked. "But I can't read your nametag."

The woman looked at me strangely, but told me her name anyway. "My name is Larissa."

"Oh," I replied.

Larissa and I turned around to see the Storyteller and another woman passing by the food table when both women paused for a moment. Larissa seemed to immediately recognize the woman and they both made a bad face to one another. The Storyteller, though more composed than the other women, seemed annoyed by Larissa, and the two women walked away while Larissa checked to make sure her food container came with utensils. Puzzled, I quickly took what I needed and caught up to the Storyteller to ask what just happened.

I found them sitting at the end of one table closest to the entrance of the auditorium, chatting like they've known each other for a long time, and stood in front of them in hopes that they'd notice me. The Storyteller was listening to the woman's story about some incident in Food Production when she realized I had been waiting for their attention. After flashing my biggest smile, I bit my lip when she found herself amused by my facial expression. The Storyteller moved over, making space for me to sit down and eat with them.

"Hello," I greeted the woman, struggling to read her nametag. "Eh… ehh… Edna?"

"This is the young girl I was telling you about," the Storyteller said. "You like telling stories, right? You told those girls the story of the Birthmother?"

I nodded and smiled widely, proud of what had been highlighted. The Storyteller must have retold Edna the story I made up and Edna must have found it interesting. I wondered how the Storyteller and Edna knew each other and what occupation Edna had. I wasn't able to identify her uniform, but I wasn't sure if I was crossing any boundaries by asking.

"Aerona told me the story you told the Birthmothers," Edna told me. "How did you come up with it?"

I shrugged. "I made it up on the spot once. Do you and Larissa know each other?"

Edna frowned. "Yes, but we aren't close friends. She'd rather associate herself with people like Roberto. You know he designed the Central Plaza?"

I nodded. "I know he's one of the Instructors of Twelves."

"I think one of his children has already received their assignment," the Storyteller stated. "His spouse is named Wilhelmina, I think. Those two are usually old for someone who still has a child."

"Larissa seemed surprised that Roberto doesn't think of me as some lowly Birthmother," Edna remarked, clarifying why she and Larissa gazed at each other with contempt earlier.

"Do you or, um, did you have a family unit?" I asked Edna, who shook her head.

"Somehow I assumed that, if I applied, my application would be dismissed," Edna confided. "I can't think of one person who would want to be paired with an ex-Birthmother," she added bitterly.

"I was looking for you," I heard someone say behind me.

I turned around and realized it was Charmion. Emanuel and Aedan accompanied her, probably waiting for me to finish eating, and I wondered what they wanted. I wanted to talk to the Storyteller more. Unlike my friends, she would be gone after the Ceremony.

"Hi, Storyteller," Charmion greeted. "And… her friend."

"This is Edna," I replied.

Charmion and Edna greeted each other with a simple wave before my friend turned her attention back to me. "We were wondering why you weren't sitting with us. Even Ronald asked where you were."

"Ronald? But he stinks!" I blurted out.

Both Aerona and Edna covered their mouths when they laughed in surprise. Aedan looked too embarrassed to say anything and Emanuel simply gave me a look of disappointment. Charmion just rolled her eyes.

"And I was talking to the Storyteller and to Edna," I explained. "Oh, and earlier, I bumped into someone named Larissa and it was awkward because I could barely read her name tag. That's why I like Edna's name. It's easier to read because it's short."

"Thanks?" Edna laughed.

"You have problems with reading?" Aerona asked with concern.

I nodded. "Sometimes I mix up letters and sometimes the letters blur and sometimes the words change and there's other stuff too but I don't know how to explain it. At first they thought I had bad vision but it turned out my vision was fine, so I don't know what's wrong with my eyes."

For the first time in a while, I felt better after talking about my reading difficulties. Normally, people look at me incredulously, wondering how a word can look different to me each time I see it or how I can sometimes read small words by guessing. My circle of friends would listen without asking ridiculous questions, however, I would still detect a hint of judgment (this especially came from Dagney, who was a top student). Only the Storyteller and Edna heard what I had to say about my reading problems and completely understood.

"You know what I like?" the Storyteller asked. "Letters I can touch."

She removed a small card from her bag, opened it, and placed it on the table beside her lunch container. On the card, I saw little letters pasted, rather than written, to form words. The Storyteller pushed the card in front of me and I tried to read it, but the letters didn't make much sense. My finger hovered over the first letter, which I tried to decipher before touching, and I traced the shape of it. I felt the outline of each letter at least three times in order to memorize the shape of them.

"That's my name," the Storyteller said.

"Can I keep it?" I asked.

The Storyteller nodded and I carefully placed the card into my pocket. I remained with the Storyteller and Edna, remembering how the Storyteller asked about me learning to ride my bicycle and now asking me about my reading problems. She looked at Emanuel, Charmion, and Aedan, and gestured to them when a few spaces at the table had cleared up. Reluctantly, the three sat down beside us and we started up our conversation again.

"So tomorrow are your Ceremonies," the Storyteller said to all of us. "You two," she pointed to Aedan and I. "Are becoming Tens, Charmion will be an Eleven, and Emanuel is receiving his Assignment!"

Emanuel sighed. "Problem is I have no idea what I'm going to be. Most people in my year know. Someone in my year, for example, definitely wants to work at the Fish Hatchery."

"I'm sure the Elders will make the right choice," Edna chimed in.

"Speaking of which," I replied. "The Storyteller knows the Receiver. I saw them talking a few days ago!"

Everyone at the table looked at the Storyteller in surprise. She didn't mind the attention, as she must have been used to it (being the Storyteller), and she simply laughed it off.

"He and I are old friends," she explained. "That's all."

Just then, someone made a signal indicating that it was time to return to the auditorium. Everyone had finished eating by then and were only happy to have the second part of today's ceremony starting (if only to get it over with). I had to part with the Storyteller and return to our assigned row of seats. Of course, close friends opted to sit near one another and Aedan immediately went to sit next to me. As soon as everyone settled, the Ceremony of Fives proceeded, with each former Four getting a new back-buttoned jacket to replace their old one. The ceremonies for the Fives and Sixes were so boring that I had almost fallen asleep for them. Had I not watched for Abel and Katya during the Ceremony of Seven, I'm sure that I would have slept through the entire procedure. I partially listened to the speech accompanying the Ceremony of Eight that I had undergone two years ago, which had detailed the responsibilities of volunteering. Already, I was predicting the first speech that would come tomorrow: a speech about receiving bicycles and how it was an important symbol of reaching out to the community or something like that.

The Ceremony finally ended and I managed to get Emanuel and Charmion alone. When I did, I couldn't help but stare at Emanuel's right pocket. Both of my older friends noticed this. While Emanuel didn't want to bring it up, Charmion was all too willing to do so.

"Why do you keep looking there?" she asked.

"I want to know what you two talked about when you figured out he was on the pill," I replied, causing Emanuel to feel embarrassed.

"We didn't discuss anything," Emanuel replied.

I crossed my arms. "All right, then," I responded before I walked away some distance.

I had turned around to the front of the auditorium when I overheard Emanuel and Charmion talking with one another privately. How they didn't know I was close enough to hear them, I couldn't be sure, but whatever caused that to happen worked on my part.

"So you took the pill and brought another one to show us," Charmion said. "Even though we could easily see the pill when our parents take it."

Emanuel huffed. "Must you make a deal out of everything?"

"I just thought it was weird," she replied. "That you would bring a pill even though you didn't need to."

"What are you implying?"

"Oh, nothing," Charmion said slyly (I honestly appreciate her for this).

Realizing the point Charmion was making, my suspicions had been confirmed, and I rode home, thinking of only two things throughout the entire rest of the day: the present that remained in my pocket, and the secret that remained in his.

* * *

**If you want to keep up with some info regarding this story, visit my tumblr blog called dissenters-and-descendants. For my idea of what should be the Giver script (for a movie), visit the tumblr blog the-alternate-script.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

_"When I became a Twelve, I was selected, as you were. I was frightened, as I'm sure you are." He opened his eyes for a moment and peered at Jonas, who nodded. The eyes closed again. "I came to this very room to begin my training. It was such a long time ago. The previous Receiver seemed just as old to me as I do to you. He was just as tired as I am today."_ _–Chapter 10, Page 76_

* * *

We took a day off of school or work, headed toward the auditorium, parked our bikes in the appropriate slots, and sat in the assigned rows, just as we did yesterday for the first eight ceremonies, not including the spouse ceremony. Today, there would be only four ceremonies, though one in particular would be longer than the others, and I assume we would have a bit more free time than we did yesterday. Hopefully the Storyteller won't leave right after the Ceremony. I had no idea when she would come back.

This morning, I didn't try to find my friends. Instead, I wanted to find the Storyteller all about Emanuel being on the pill, Emanuel hearing weird things, my attempt to spell her name by feeling the letters rather than reading them, Charmion getting her new bra today, and anything else I could remember. Before she would leave, I wanted to ask her several things about her life in Rockbourne, like if she liked her assigned brother, if she had trouble in school as a kid (like I do now), if she ever planned on applying for a spouse, and if she wanted to start her own family unit. I wanted to ask about her childhood friends and if she still talked to them. Last but not least, I wanted to ask her how she became friends with the Receiver.

We started off today with the Ceremony of Nine. The day began with two sets of Eights: the new group of Eights and the group of children that would soon become Nines. The soon-to-be Nines sometimes glanced at the new group of Eights as they proceeded to the stage and sat in their assigned seats, all of them anxious to receive their new bicycles. The females of the group toyed with their hair ribbons, knowing that this would be the last time they would be wearing them. Soon, their longer hair would be ribbon-less, much to the relief of some of the girls, and they would mock their younger friends who would still have to tie them every morning.

The Chief Elder read a speech about the bicycles being a "powerful emblem" of "growing up" and "reaching out to the community" in the exact same manner that it had been read at my Ceremony of Nine last year. Then, one by one, each child received their new bicycle and each girl removed her ribbons when commanded. I sat smugly, waiting for those in my year to jokingly shout at the new Nines if they needed help riding their bikes. I would have too, but I didn't have any friends in that year, so I kept whatever jokes I would have shouted to myself. My eyes went to Charmion, who looked back at me, remembering when she had made those jokes to me just a year ago. Meanwhile, Emanuel was clapping for his little sister, Muriel, who he had secretly taught the art of bicycle riding for a few months now. He doesn't talk much about his younger sister nor do his friends interact with her much. However, I was still able to identify her from the other new Nines.

Now it was our turn to complete our time as Nines and become Tens. As we walked to the stage, I waved at Emanuel and Charmion, who were waiting for their ceremonies to begin. I knew Charmion didn't have to wait very long; all that happens during the Ceremony of Ten is a haircut. Before the haircut, however, each of one us soon-to-be Tens sat in our assigned seats, arranged in numerical order. I, for example, was number twenty-eight, so I would sit in the third row, in the third-to-rightmost seat. To my left, Dagney and Aedan accompanied me, and we waited patiently while the Chief Elder read an embarrassingly short speech on how our haircuts would make us look more like the adults we looked up to. Once she completed the speech, a man took a pair of scissors and sloppily chopped off the hair of the rightmost child in the first row, Number 10. The man proceeded to do this with everyone in the first row and all those behind them watched as the removed hair gently fell to the floor, making a huge mess.

The man didn't go all the way to the left again in order to start with the third row. Instead, the man started with a boy to my right, whom I didn't particularly like, and I turned to watch his hair fall. The boy didn't seem to like my attention. The man did a quick and sloppy job with the boy's hair, which made me smirk, and the man stepped over the fallen hair to get behind me. Now the boy beside me smirked, knowing how difficult it will be to properly cut my curly hair. I even heard the man behind me sigh at the tough job ahead of him. Knowing that my mother will probably correct the job tonight, I didn't care how badly the man messed up my hair, and I let him use his scissors. The man cut my hair more carefully than he did the others and I heard the boy to my right groan. Proud, I sat up straight when the man finished my haircut and proceeded to cut the other soon-to-be Tens' hair with the same haphazard haste that he did with those before me. I sat this way even when the man reached the last child and thought about how the man would later be chastised for not starting with the first-born child when it came to the hair-cutting process. Even better, he might be chastised for spending so much time with my hair.

Our group of new Tens went back to our seats as a few menial workers took out a few brooms and swept the stage clean of our hair. Now, the old Tens would sit in numerical order on the stage and, unlike the other Ceremonies, no speech was recited. Instead, each individual was called to the front and received a package of clothing (longer pants for boys, bras for girls). Charmion, number 32, waited while her older age mates received their packages and when her name and number was called, she approached the Elder, who gave her the package of clothes. Now that they were all new Elevens, they would spend the year waiting to become a Twelve, as Emanuel had been for the last several months.

Just when I heard my stomach rumbling, it was announced that we are now having our Midday Meal, and I practically jumped out of my seat to fetch my meal. I was careful not to bump into anyone like Larissa again and I made sure to save some time for my friends. After grabbing my container of food and the appropriate utensils, I looked around for the Storyteller, but I couldn't find her. Disappointed, I decided to spend time with my friends, hoping that they weren't mad at me for yesterday when I ditched them.

I found Aedan, Dagney, Yoshiko, and Andrei all sitting at one table, talking about the new lightness of their hair. Dagney and Yoshiko were especially delighted and, forgetting my initial angst concerning the Storyteller's absence, I sat down with them and joined the discussion.

"I really like my new hair too," I chimed in. "The haircutter spend quite some time with mine."

"The boy next to you looked a little jealous," Yoshiko pointed out, which prompted an agreeing nod from Aedan.

"And he thought the haircutter would mess up your hair!" Andrei laughed.

Dagney huffed through her nose. "He has a _name_. It's Eustace."

For some reason, I couldn't help but burst out laughing at such an unfortunate name. Soon, Yoshiko and Andrei were laughing with me. Even Aedan giggled a little, still too shy to laugh right in Dagney's face. None of us really understood why Dagney bothered defending Eustace. Dagney quickly changed the topic.

"Have any of you heard the story of this one kid who swam across the river and escaped to another community?" Dagney asked. "He wanted Engineer, but he got Sanitation Laborer instead."

"That's what I should do if I get an assignment I don't like," I replied. "I don't mind swimming anyway. I wish we could swim more, like we used to."

"Maybe we could build a new, larger pool," Andrei suggested. "Add a current, maybe. That way, we know what to do if we fall in the river while it's going unusually fast."

We all looked in the direction of the river, which was always smooth, but sometimes changed speeds throughout the year. Occasionally, we saw boats come by the Fish Hatchery, but we never saw the people in them. Those boats must have been well built; they were able to adapt to any river speed.

"Let's hope we have to review swimming this upcoming year," Yoshiko said. "Maybe Rhiannon will enjoy herself more."

Yoshiko was right. During the school hours, I dreaded the assignments given to us, particularly the reading ones. I would usually be able to go through school knowing that there would be activities I would enjoy and swimming had always been one of them. We had stopped swimming lessons after we had gotten to a certain age, which meant I had less to look forward to. If they brought swimming back, I would, overall, be much happier. Swimming was one of the few things I was really good at.

"I envy the little fish at the little ponds near the river," I sighed. "All they have to do is swim. Nothing else."

Someone near the auditorium announced that our eating time was over and everyone got up, disposing of his or her trash and heading inside.

While we all returned to their seats after our Midday Meal, I looked around the auditorium to find out where the Storyteller was sitting. However, I looked up at the special seats reserved for the Elders and found the Receiver sitting among them. He seemed to have been paying little attention to the other ceremonies, but when the Chief Elder announced the beginning of the Ceremony of Twelve, the Receiver sat up straighter and showed more interest in what was going on. I turned around too, excited to see Emanuel's last ceremony, and pointed him out in the second to last seat of the fourth row. He seemed nervous enough and I hoped that he would starting hearing that unknown thing again, no matter how amusing it was several times before. However, as soon as the Chief Elder made a speech about valuing each new Twelves' differences and acknowledging their attributes, Emanuel perked his head up in the way he normally would when he heard the weird sound. Charmion and I peered at each other. We both knew that Emanuel would be too busy fretting over the sounds we couldn't pick up in order to properly pay attention to what was happening. Both of us have seen Emanuel practice that special walk that all new Twelves do when they receive their assignment. Neither of us wanted him to embarrass himself by not hearing his own name nor by walking awkwardly and nervously when assigned.

The speeches made for each new Twelve were long and personalized, all ending with the phrase, "Thank you for your childhood." As I watched them, I struggled to understand what that phrase meant. Perhaps I wasn't old enough. I figured that, when I receive my assignment two years from now, I would understand the deep meaning of it. All the Twelves seemed to appreciate the sentiment and they all beamed when told their new adult roles.

Even after the first three rows of Twelves had been assigned (so everyone from Number 1 to Number 30), Emanuel was still fretting about the seemingly imaginary noise. Charmion and I kept looking at each other with concern and I hoped that Emanuel would be able to handle himself until after the Ceremony at least. Number 31 approached the Chief Elder, who gave an individualized speech, said, "Thank you for your childhood," and gave the new adult a badge and their folder containing the necessary information for their assignment. This was done with every child up until Number 38 went to return to his seat, showing off his badge and prompting silent congratulations from his peers. Charmion and I looked at each other, both excited to see what Emanuel was going to get, when something odd happened.

"Number 40," the Chief Elder called out.

"What?!" I called out.

I would have been hushed by a peer or supervisor, but everyone was too surprised by the Chief Elder's mistake to care about mine. I watched Emanuel fret on stage, wondering what he was thinking at that exact moment, and then looked around to see everyone else's reactions. Most people, like me, were shocked, but I looked at the reserved seats for the Elders and was even more confused by the Receiver's expression. His eyes were focused, his posture lacked tension, and he seemed like he knew what was going to happen, even _impatient_ for that thing to happen. I looked at the other faces in the crowd and finally found the Storyteller, who, like the Receiver, lacked that sense of surprise. Instead, she looked at the ground, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. Was she upset?

Ahead of me, Charmion gave me a look, nodding to the doors that would lead to the lavatories. I nod back and get up out of my seat, first approaching our supervisor before I go anywhere.

"Excuse me," I whispered. "May I use the lavatory?"

"Uh, sure," he replied, too distracted by the Chief Elder's mistake to really think it through.

I quickly head to the doors at the side of the auditorium, waiting for Charmion to catch up, and we head toward the lavatory. Unsure of what Charmion wanted me here for, I wash my hands, feeling like I should be doing _something_ in here. The water running over my hands was soothing.

"That Chief Elder's mistake was weird, right?" she asked. "What do you think happened?"

I shrugged. "I saw the Receiver's face. He seemed calm."

"The Receiver is here?" Charmion replied. "I didn't know he attended the annual Ceremony. Do you think he knows anything about Emanuel's… situation?"

"About the hearing thing or about him not getting his assignment like everyone else?" I asked.

Charmion paused for a moment. I doubt either of us had thought about the Receiver knowing about Emanuel hearing things until now, but since I considered the possibility, I wondered if I should ask the Receiver after all the Twelves receive their assignments. It was probably inappropriate to ask the Receiver something that plagued Emanuel's personal life, so I decided against it.

"I was talking about the assignment," Charmion replied.

"How long until the last one of his year gets their assignment?" I asked. "There's only ten after him."

"I think they'd be on Number 42 by now," Charmion said. "Has something like this happened before? To anyone?"

All I could do was shrug. I wandered around the lavatory, thinking about the possible reasons he could be skipped today and why the Receiver would know. So far, I was drawing blanks, and the reaction of the Storyteller made it all the more confusing. The Chief Elder wouldn't make such a blatant error unless there was something seriously wrong. Was the Chief Elder ill with something they couldn't detect in time? I paced faster and faster around the lavatory until I started to irritate Charmion.

"Stop pacing like that!" she yelled at me.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at my watch. There wasn't a whole lot of time before the Ceremony was over. All I wanted to do now was have the Chief Elder's error corrected, go home, eat my Evening Meal, dream, and possibly swim tomorrow. I put my hands under cool water to calm down before I left the lavatory and took my seat in the audience.

At some point during the Ceremony, I saw Charmion return from the lavatory. One by one, each Twelve, aside from Emanuel, received their assignment. Once the other Twelves were assigned (and thanked for their childhood), they left the stage and Emanuel sat in the midst of empty chairs. Hopefully, the Chief Elder's error would be corrected now.

"Come forward, Emanuel," the Chief Elder said.

Emanuel walked to the front of the stage with a slouch, his head hanging down and his hands in his pocket. What happened here was nothing like the practiced walk Charmion and I had seen him do several times. I leaned forward in my chair, waving at him so he could somehow come back to his senses. Emanuel paid no attention to me and I leaned back, realizing my attempts were useless.

"First, I'd like to apologize to my community for causing such confusion," the Chief Elder said, listening to the prompted response from the audience before continuing. "And I'd like to apologize to you, Emanuel, for causing you not only confusion, but nervousness, even fear."

"I… accept your… apology," Emanuel stammered, very much unlike his poised speech we were accustomed to.

"Now that I've expressed what I needed to," the Chief Elder replied. "I'd like you to know that you've not been assigned, but selected."

"What?" Emanuel blurted out succinctly.

The Chief Elder smiled. "For the Receiver of Memory," the Elder said rather cheerfully.

_Receiver?_ I looked back at the reserved seats for the Elders, seeing the aged Receiver smile, and everything made sense, except for the expression of the Storyteller. She now seemed pained and her body language seemed closed. Her arms were folded on her lap and her legs were crossed. She ignored anyone who tried to give her any attention. Nothing she did now made much sense, so I decided to pay attention to the events on stage.

"An undeniable honor," the Chief Elder continued. "And a very, very difficult choice to make. Potential candidates are rare and the perfect choice is even rarer. With the other Twelves, we usually observe them during their last year of childhood, but you! We've observed you since you were a young child."

I glanced back at the Storyteller, briefly remembering the time Instructor Sydney had talked to her about searching through files, particularly Emanuel's. What would she have to do with Emanuel's selection? After being unable to think of anything, I tuned into the Chief Elder's speech.

"There are certain traits necessary to being the Receiver. One, you need intelligence, which we are certain you have. After all, we've examined all of your school records. Not one late assignment, nothing less than your very best. Another trait we already detected in you is integrity. Everyone who knows Emanuel knows of this."

I nodded absentmindedly.

"The Receiver has told us that this line of work requires a certain type of resilience and strength, as you will endure all sorts of physical pain that is beyond the comprehension of anyone in this auditorium, aside from the Receiver, of course. He has told us that undergoing such a task requires bravery. He and I hope, just as the entire Community hopes, that you will be brave."

I thought I saw Emanuel muttering something.

"In addition to intelligence, integrity, and bravery, you must also have wisdom. The Elders, particularly the Receiver, are quite sure you will be able to develop this, as you have often shown good judgment in the past. Good judgment is an important predecessor of wisdom, as the Receiver has told us many times."

What was the Chief Elder saying?! None of this made any sense. I knew "intelligence" referred to how smart Emanuel was; there was no denying the fact that he excelled in school. I had a vague idea of what integrity was (and I'm sure my parents would probably accuse me of not having any, not that I valued their opinion much), but bravery? What situation would something like bravery be required? I wasn't sure I even heard the word before. Now, wisdom. That sounded odd to me! I'm sure someone like my parents or an elderly person would use it, but it fit nowhere in my daily vocabulary. I sat impatiently, hoping for some part of this speech to make sense.

"This last quality is something none of us, aside from the Receiver, and probably Emanuel, can understand because we do not have it. The Receiver told me that you, Emanuel, have had this quality for quite some time now. If you've been worried about it, you don't need to worry now."

"You're not making any sense," I heard Emanuel mutter.

"The Receiver calls it the ability to Hear Beyond," the Chief Elder said.

Emanuel's face showed less tension and his breathing became slow and steady. He even smiled a little. I knew I should have felt happy for him then and there, but I couldn't find it in me to do so. I couldn't even feel fear for him when the Chief Elder talked about incomprehensible physical pain. Leave it to him to feel the fear and later teach it to me.

The Hearing Beyond, whatever that was, somehow made things make a little sense. Whatever Emanuel had heard in the past few weeks, months even, did not indicate anything "wrong" with him, nor did it require treatment. Emanuel was fine, perhaps even better than fine. He could do something hardly anyone else could. By the way he stood and smiled, I could tell that made him feel better about himself, and I became slightly jealous and a bit resentful of the fact that there was one less thing I could use to joke about him. There were far too many things he could use to joke about me if he needed, like my hair that can't be brushed or my struggle to read or my being slightly overweight. Even though I knew he never would, I would much prefer that the playing ground be even.

"This upcoming year, and many years after," the Chief Elder continued. "You will train to be our next Receiver of Memory. You will use your intelligence and integrity, develop your bravery and wisdom, and use your Hearing Beyond to endure the burdens that come with your selection and to counsel the Elders in their time of need."

Finally, the Chief Elder said a phrase that has been said several times before and will be said several times in the future, including at my own Ceremony of Twelve, where due to what little I have to offer to the Community, will be devoid of meaning when I hear it spoken to me.

"Thank you for your childhood."

The Chief Elder walked off the stage and went to sit with the reserved seats for the Elders while the entire audience, myself included, slapped their hands together and enthusiastically congratulated Emanuel. I clapped loudly and cheered, forgetting my previous insecurities. From where I was sitting, I could detect a larger smile forming on Emanuel's face and when the cheeriness reached its peak, I saw the smile slowly disappear. Slowly, the rabble died down, and the tired audience exited the doors, found their way to the bikes, and some of the members went back to their dwellings.

Near Emanuel, I saw the various Twelves congratulating each other on their new assignments and quite a few praising him on his selection. He only replied to them halfheartedly and his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Not wanting to bother with his honorable self nor his increased abilities, I decided I would ride straight home and leave him behind. He would probably still have Charmion to talk to and likely wouldn't even realize I'm gone.

I spent my bike ride looking at the numbers on each dwelling and making a mental checklist of who lived where. After identifying the dwellings of a few of my friends, I counted the types of flowers I would see in the various landscaping areas and came up with about five. I spent the rest of the bike ride thinking about the sensation of swimming, which took my minds off of more stressful things, and I only stopped when I heard Emanuel's voice so close behind me.

"You just took off," Emanuel said once he caught up to me. "I was looking for you."

I shrugged and sped up on my bicycle, wanting to be home and _alone_. I wasn't sure how to explain my feelings right now and I wanted to be left to think about swimming again. However, Emanuel didn't seem to want to let me do that.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Are you purposely avoiding me?" he asked again, though it might have been against the rules to do so.

"I'm trying to get home," I replied. "You know what happens at home. Completion of certain assignments. Evening Meal. Sharing of Feelings. The typical routine."

"I'll leave you to that then," Emanuel sighed. "By the way, nice haircut."

I couldn't tell if he was being genuine or sarcastic, so I assumed the latter and let myself fume until after I arrived at my dwelling, parked my bike in the appropriate slot, entered the building and spent some time in my room. Today was too much. I would have honestly preferred school.

I went under the blankets of my bed and thought about swimming. Feeling oddly relaxed, I pretended I was one of those skinny, shimmering, tiny little fish at the ponds near the river, doing nothing but swimming around the small confines. There was no thought given to school, friendships, obligations, nor the future. There was only here and now and there were only simple thoughts, like the sensation of cool water and the pondering of where to dart next. I would have fallen asleep underneath the blankets of my bed had my family members not come home and let their loud footsteps disturb me. They let me remain in my bedroom until it was time for the Evening Meal.

Once we were all in our appropriate seats, I was given my diet food, which I only ended up partially eating. Mother, Father, and Abel were able to finish their entire meal. I assumed this was due to their food tasting good and them not holding the same, confusing feelings I was at the moment. Now, I not only felt envy for Emanuel, but for my family unit.

"Who wants to go first for the Sharing of Feelings?" Father asked.

Abel raised his hand excitedly and I let him go first. I didn't want to confide anything to my family right now.

"I felt happy," Abel said. "That Rhiannon got her new haircut. She doesn't like brushing her hair in the morning, so she'll like that it's easier now."

"Thank you," I replied rather bitterly.

"I felt happy too," Mother added. "Rhiannon did, in fact, reach a milestone, and your haircut looks so well done. Usually the haircutter does it haphazardly and I thought I would have to trim it myself! You reached a milestone too, Abel. You got your front-buttoned jacket yesterday and you got to wear it today."

Abel nodded enthusiastically.

"I felt confused, too," Abel added. "By the Ceremony of Twelve. Normally people aren't skipped. I guess what happened at the end made sense though, but I don't understand why he had to be skipped."

"I did too," I chimed in. "That's all I really felt today. Confusion."

That might have been a lie; that might have been the truth. My feelings were particularly baffling, which caused me confusion, but to say that all I felt was confusion was disingenuous. My relationship with Emanuel felt a little rocky, despite him showing hardly any animosity towards me, and I wasn't sure what to do. At this point, I wished I could talk to the Storyteller, but she was probably long gone from the Communities, as she had likely left right after the Ceremony. If telling that abbreviated version was going to get me out of things, then so be it.

"He was skipped and put last because he became the new Receiver," Father said, ignoring what I had said (thankfully). "And that is very, very rare. He deserved the honor of being the last thing, the most important thing that everyone thinks about when they leave the auditorium. They remember his importance and honor."

"I guess that makes sense," Abel replied.

"You're last to go, Savely," Mother said to Father.

"You're right," he responded. "I felt happiness for both of you children and, I admit, I felt a sense of unease when Emanuel was skipped, but I felt relief once we were told what was going on. To be honest, I feel a slight sense of honor in being present at the selection of the Receiver and knowing that I will remember it."

Thankful that they didn't ask me to elaborate my feelings, I wished them all a good night's rest and volunteered to place the dirty food containers outside the door, where a Sanitation Laborer would pick them up sometime tonight.

"Today was a wonderful day," I heard my father say before I entered my room, shut the door, crawled under my covers and felt miserable for no particular reason.

* * *

**So what did you think? Any thoughts? Criticisms? Predictions?**


	7. Chapter 7

The first month after Emanuel's Ceremony of Twelve was a bit weird for me. Even after just one day of training, Emanuel acted somewhat strangely. Normally, the new Twelves got excited about their new jobs and talked about all the new things they learn on their first day of training. Emanuel spent his first few days of his twelfth year completely silent about his new job. Neither Charmion nor I bothered asking about it, since we both knew he wouldn't answer. Thanks to his job, we spent less time with him and were only able to talk to him during morning bike rides and breaks throughout the school day. We noticed that the Twelves' breaks are shorter than ours. At some point, I realized that Charmion and I will one day spend less time with each other and more time with friends in our year. I'm sure Charmion realized this too.

These odd feelings, combined with the daily struggle in school, only served to create misery. Normally, I completed about 75 percent of my schoolwork, but I found myself only able to complete half, and I felt grateful that, so far, we have not been asked to read aloud. During class, I asked either Andrei or Yoshiko to check my spelling and if neither of them were available, I asked Dagney. One day, I finished part of an assignment pertaining to language and saw that Andrei and Yoshiko are both busy, so I nervously approached my alternative school work checker.

"Let me guess," she sighed. "You want me to check your spelling."

I nodded and she took the assignment, erasing the letters that I mixed up and correcting it. She shook her head at my obvious mistakes, which made me feel miserable, and she handed me the assignment with an aggressive flick in the wrist.

"How do you keep making those mistakes?" she muttered under her breath.

I took back the assignment and sit in my desk. I only made my friends check some of the work, otherwise they'd get more aggravated with me than they already are, and I didn't want my teachers thinking I've completely mastered writing. I had my work edited just enough so my teachers don't think I'm an utter failure. Sometimes I wondered if the small measures I take are enough.

_Enough for what?_

I kept that small card the Storyteller gave me in my pocket all the time now. Whenever I got frustrated on schoolwork, I rubbed the edges of the 3-D letters and thought of how she had paid special attention to me during her short time here. I liked to think that she receives news about me while in the other communities, telling stories about twins or outsiders in a new place, and that she always thinks of me. On occasion, I would stay up a few minutes at night and pretend I'm talking to her and no one would have any idea.

I didn't even ask my friends where they are volunteering anymore. I spent my volunteer hours in locations near the river, hoping to get a glimpse of something beyond this community called Nantun. Sometimes I would see a fishing boat make its way to the Fish Hatchery and be a little curious about where it goes once it leaves. I would alternate between the Fish Hatchery and the House of the Old most of the time, but occasionally, I would visit the Birthing Center in hopes of learning those secrets that the Storyteller mentioned not too long ago. The women didn't tell me anything, which saddens me, and after a while, I gave up. I decided to visit the House of the Old more in hopes that I would meet a few ex-Birthmothers who wouldn't mind gossiping.

One day, I decided to spend my hours at the House of the Old and I opted for the bathing room. The room was a bit steamy, the ground was little wet, and loud chatter filled the place. Most of the elderly seemed either amused or relaxed. I couldn't help but notice a few grumpy individuals among their mostly content peers and, though I should be sympathizing with them, I couldn't help but find it amusing. I followed some of the other volunteers to the changing rooms, where we exchanged our tunic for a volunteer's smock, and I headed to the bench where the elderly wait to be bathed. At the end of the bench, an elderly woman sat patiently, her eyes completely blank and she smiled for no reason that I'm aware of. I approached her and noticed that her eyes haven't moved. Once I suspected something, I wove my hand in front of her face, but her gaze didn't move, and I confirmed my suspicion that she is blind.

"Hello," I said to her. "My name is Rhiannon. What's yours?"

The woman chuckled. "My name's Evette."

As she got up and used me as a guide to the bathtub, I wondered if she ever had conflicting feelings about her blindness, but as far as I could tell from her demeanor, she didn't seem at all troubled by it. We walked together until I find an empty tub on my right. Slowly, I guided her to it. She removed her robe on her own and her hands gently touched the edges of the bathtub before she gripped them. I made sure she didn't slip on the wet floor or wet tub as she calculated her movements and entered the confined space meant for bathing. Even when both feet were inside, Evette had to grip both sides of the tub to steady herself, and she slowly sat down as I picked up the robe she dropped. I looked at the nametag, which had been sewn in, and my fingertips traced the letters. As I did this, I whispered her name, identifying which sound goes with which letter, and I finally hung up her robe on a nearby hook before I pushed a button that activates the faucets. The water slowly rose until it filled the tub and the faucets stopped automatically. When I checked on Evette, I realized she was smiling throughout the entire thing.

"So you can't see, huh?" I asked Evette, immediately remembering that if someone of authority heard me, I would be chastised.

"No," Evette replied. "And you're the first child to ask. Most of them are probably worried about being rude. I don't blame them."

Immediately I realized that I like Evette. She kept her eyes closed when I prepared the soap on the sponge and scrubbed her, but when she opened her eyes, they were blank and not judging. I realized she judges with her ears, her noise, and with her hands, and I wondered what an existence without sight would be like. It must be a very happy one, I thought to myself, otherwise Evette wouldn't be smiling. I used the sponge to bathe her thin arms and when I reached her hands, her fingers gently brushed over mine, and I saw Evette smile even wider this time. It wasn't often that I meet someone who enjoyed physical contact with another person; the last person I came across who was like that was the Storyteller.

"Do you know about the Storyteller?" I asked Evette.

"The Storyteller?" Evette replied with an odd hint of enthusiasm. "Of course! She's pretty well known here in the House of the Old, especially among the ex-Birthmothers, like myself."

Unable to stop myself from smiling, I gloated over my luck. Hopefully, Evette would be one to enjoy a little gossip, so I tried to find ways to glean a little information out of her. I wondered just how many ex-Birthmothers know each other, or at least, _of_ each other.

"The Storyteller seems to be friendly with this one ex-Birthmother," I said. "Her name is Edna. Do you know about her?"

Evette smiled in recognition. "Ex-Birthmothers all have a way of finding out who birthed who. I remember a long time ago, I found out that my third product was a female, and I kept track of her until her Ceremony of Twelve."

"What was her name?" I asked.

"Bethany," she replied, her voice hushed. "Not the best name, but it works. One day, I bump into Bethany – she was a beautiful woman – after her reassignment as a laundry worker, and after some conversation, she finds out I was a Birthmother. Of course, I don't tell her who I am. We're technically not supposed to know our Birthmothers and our Products. Somehow, I manage to get her to tell me that her last product was a female and that she somehow learned what number her child was. I told her that, sometime, we could have lunch during our breaks, and I went back to my work. I spoke to another ex-Birthmother, who sometimes would visit the Nursery, because she had an old friend there that _she_ would have lunch with. It was all too convenient, really. I asked my friend that, next time she goes to the Nursery, she looks for that female with that number. My friend would go there and come back and tell me stories about this newchild. When I would have lunch with Bethany, I would tell her the stories, and Bethany would smile a lot. I knew telling Bethany about her newchild would make her happy, somehow, and I wanted to see her happy. The ceremony came and I saw Bethany in the audience. Oh, how happy she was when she heard the name of the newchild. Little Edna. I wonder where Edna is now."

"She works in Food Production, in case you're wondering," I replied. "And she's friends with the Storyteller, but she doesn't seem to like this one woman named Larissa. I think Larissa is friends with an Instructor of Elevens. His name is Roberto. Roberto is my friend's father. Her name is Dagney and she's pretty smart."

"I like the Storyteller," Evette sighed. "She doesn't judge. She seems to like it when Birthmothers tell her stories. I don't know why."

I shrugged. "She says Birthmothers have interesting ones. I wish she told me what she meant by this because now I'm just confused."

I moved on to washing her back and she let out a relaxed moan. I imagined what it must be like to live in her old, arthritic body, and smiled at the thought of getting pampered by a companion in a bathtub. Evette clearly enjoyed herself while I bathed her. As she stretched out, I wondered what must have been like at my age.

"They're interesting because no one knows them," Evette clarified. "Except for the Birthmothers and, now, the Storyteller. I don't know what it is about her that made the Birthmothers want to tell her their stories, but she has several of them now. No one else but us."

"So I can't know, huh?" I asked.

Evette shook her head. "Not unless you become a Birthmother." She then muttered solemnly. "No one wants to become a Birthmother."

I sighed and scrubbed her legs, thinking of what I would be assigned in two years if I didn't improve my reading quickly. Evette's words repeated themselves in my head and I kept wishing for there to be some way to get better, for the letters to stop swimming around the page when I tried to read, for the letters to not mix themselves up with each other, and for this to happen fast. I calmed myself down, reminding myself that I had two years left, and I focused on my current task at hand: to finish bathing Evette.

"What year are you?" Evette asked, her eyes focused on absolutely nothing.

"I'm a Ten now," I replied.

"Two more years of childhood," Evette replied. "Enjoy them while you can."

* * *

One day, some time in late March, Charmion and I decided to spend a day with just each other. We chose to volunteer at the Fish Hatchery and spent most of the day talking to each other about our new teachers. Charmion had Instructor Roberto, who had a reputation of being rather patient, and I had gotten Instructor Selena, who had taught Charmion the previous year. Charmion took the time to warn me about Instructor Selena and I asked her about Instructor Roberto. We ignored pretty much anyone who tried to get in our conversation.

"Instructor Selena really doesn't like people who turn in homework late," Charmion told me.

"I already learned that," I replied. "She also doesn't like it when I peek at other people's answers."

Charmion snorted. "Well, duh, that's called cheating."

"But I wasn't cheating," I replied, indignant. "I was checking my answers. She always thinks I'm doing something bad when I'm not."

"Rhiannon," Charmion sighed. "You _always_ think you aren't doing something bad."

"No I don't!" I almost shouted, making other people stare at us.

For a moment, the other volunteers gave us strange, puzzled looks and as soon as they turned away, Charmion resumed talking about Instructor Roberto, who must have been a lot nicer than Instructor Selena. I remembered that Emanuel had Instructor Sydney last year, but couldn't remember anything he said about her, since he didn't actually say very much. He hasn't been saying much to Charmion or me lately.

"Instructor Roberto is really helpful," Charmion said. "He's not as harsh as Instructor Selena."

"Then where does Dagney get her personality from?" I muttered to myself, though Charmion overheard.

"What's wrong with Dagney?" Charmion asked. "I thought you two were friends."

I thought about Dagney's recent condescension, which left a bitter taste in my mouth, and my own frustration caused me to mess up a task assigned to the volunteers. I ended up breaking a small piece of equipment, which invited sneers from the other children, and I opted for another task that wasn't so easy to mess up. I could imagine Dagney watching me now, a scornful look on her face and her arms crossed, as I mess up the easiest of tasks. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn't stop.

"How do you keep making those mistakes?" I sarcastically mimicked. "You need me to check your spelling again? Is that _another_ mistake? Oh, how do you mess up such a _simple_ problem?"

"Oh," Charmion sighed.

"Yeah," I replied. That was the last word of our conversation.

* * *

Some time between that incident and now, I had gone back to normal meals, which I was grateful for. However, that didn't make up for the increasing difficulty of school, nor did it make up for the gradual loss of my friendship with Emanuel. We hardly saw each other anymore and, when we did, he just seemed bitter toward everyone he came across. No matter how irrationally angry he was with anyone, everyone had to give him the proper amount of respect. He didn't seem to notice me or Charmion when we approached him. If he thought about his waning friendships, he probably didn't care.

I didn't know why I kept volunteering in places near the river. Maybe it was because I clung onto some hope that I would see Emanuel by the river. There was also the thought of passing by his mentor, the Receiver, at the river, and the possibility of asking him about the Storyteller. There wasn't a single day where I didn't think of that strange, caring woman.

After I spent time at the House Of The Old (and had a hilarious conversation with Evette), I found Emanuel standing alone at the edge of the river, looking at nothing in particular, and I decided to go up to him and say hello. Maybe now that I caught him alone, he would be more willing to talk to me. I parked my bike against a nearby tree and approached him slowly, careful to give him the "utmost respect" by not startling him.

"Hello, Rhiannon," he greeted without looking at me.

"Hello, Emmy," I replied, hoping he would have some sort of reaction to the old, cheesy nickname.

All he gave in response was a weak smile. I frowned, hoping that he would have done something else, though I didn't know exactly what I wanted him to do. I just knew that I wanted something other than him blankly staring out into the distance, barely acknowledging my presence. Emanuel turned his head to me slightly and gazed at me, but he said nothing.

"How's your new job?" I asked, not caring if this was considered rude. "You never talk about it."

Emanuel shrugged wordlessly, still looking at me, and I felt a little frustrated. He had been ignoring all of his friends since his first day of being a Twelve until now, with his brief greeting and half-hearted stare. I wondered if the mysterious noise still bothered him, but I doubted it, since his concern about it must have been addressed with that whole mention of "Hearing Beyond." Now, he probably took pride in it, as it earned him the most honorable position available in the community, and I remembered resenting him for it.

I turned away from him and watched the rapid water toss over the rocks below. The sound that the rushing river made soothed me, but only to a certain extent, and I imagined all the tiny fish that would collect in the small ponds nearby. A slight breeze came and went, as it occasionally does. A full minute passed before I heard Emanuel say anything.

"Rhi," Emanuel said, though it sounded a little like a question.

Though I should have been happy that Emanuel responded at all, I was a little angry that he ignored me for the past six months. I kept my back turned to him and would only slightly turn my head to see if he was facing me, but I wouldn't make eye contact with him. He was, in fact, turned my way and gazing at me.

"Rhiannon?" he asked solemnly.

I still ignored him.

"Rhiannon," he asked. "Are you… are you just ignoring me?"

Finally, I responded. "You've been ignoring us since you got chosen."

"Selected."

"Whatever," I said, my back still turned.

"Rhiannon," Emanuel replied immediately. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?" I spat, fully facing him. "You never talk to us anymore!"

"Because I don't have the time! I have school, I have training, what do you _expect_?" he asked and flailed his arms in a frustrated manner.

"To at least say hello during the school breaks," I answered. "You don't even do that. It's like you don't even care anymore!"

Emanuel must have taken this as a harsh accusation, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted as angrily as he did now.

"You really think I don't care?!" he raised his voice. "Why would you think that?"

I crossed my arms, ready to yell at him. "Probably because you don't even try to talk to me. Every time I even say 'hello,' you just pretend I don't exist! It's like you think you're too good for me or something."

"You wouldn't understand, Rhiannon!"

"Oh, of _course_ I wouldn't," I replied sarcastically.

"Not everything I do pertains to you, Rhi! Not everything in my life has to do with you! Don't you realize how _stupid_ you're being right now?

Stupid. Of all the words he could say, with his intensive training in Precision of language, the training we all received, he chose that word. Stupid. The boy known for intelligence and integrity, the one considered most honorable in the community right now, chose that word. Stupid. The boy that smirked as he showed me his hidden pill on the first day of the Ceremony chose that word. Stupid. The boy that taught me to ride my bike chose that word. Stupid. The boy with eyes like mine chose that word. Stupid.

The boy I thought was my best friend.

Called.

Me.

Stupid.

I picked up a medium sized rock nearby and threw it straight at Emanuel as hard as I could, hoping that it would hurt him enough for him to request Relief Of Pain pills. The rock hit his chest with a loud thud and landed beside his feet. I only saw his shocked expression for a few seconds before I rushed to get on my bike and rode away, not wanting to deal with the consequences of such an action. Shortly after I got some distance away from the river, I heard Emanuel's voice calling, and I rode faster. I wanted to have nothing to do with Emanuel now. I wanted to be alone.

Once I got to my dwelling, I parked my bicycle in my appropriate slot, went inside, and almost slammed the door. My father was at his desk, studying some files, while my mother was checking over Abel's homework. The three of them looked up when I entered the house and I quickly paced straight to my room, not bothering to greet any of them. I'm sure they were all uncertain as to what action to take, as none of them entered my room when I closed the door. They must have all assumed that I had closed the door so I could focus on my homework assignments and that if I were upset about something, I would tell them during the Sharing of Feelings.

When I closed my door, I immediately landed face down on my bed and pushed the pillow onto my face, screaming into it. I couldn't bear the thought – no, the memory – of being called stupid. These past six months of school grew unbearable and my best friend had the audacity to call me _stupid._ The worst part was, deep down, I knew I was stupid. Stupid for not reading, stupid for having Yoshiko or Andrei or Dagney check my work all the time, stupid for mixing up the letters whenever I wrote, stupid for finishing only half of my homework and forgetting to turn it in anyways, stupid for managing to break equipment at the Fish Hatchery, stupid, stupid, stupid.

I took out the little card that the Storyteller gave me and traced my fingers over each letter as I wept. Somehow, I felt like if anyone was going to reassure me that I wasn't stupid, it would be her, but she wasn't here to do that. I desperately tried to prove to myself that I wasn't by attempting to write her name on a piece of paper. When I wrote it, I took great care to trace the letters as I remembered them, and I hoped that it would help me. I painstakingly drew each letter until I finished writing her name. In my hands laid the final product: a torn piece of lined paper that had six squiggly and crooked letters that seemed to blur together, like an image reflected on the surface of moving water. There was no way for me to tell, on my own, whether or not I wrote her name right. There was no way to tell if I failed the Storyteller.

Once again, I went face down on my bed, weeping and screaming into my pillow until I fell asleep.


End file.
